Ringu
by Jaybee4
Summary: Ryou thinks that he is rid of his Yami, that is, before Bakura suddenly returns and drags him to London. But not only does Bakura arrive in a body of his own, he seems to have learned about a new, dangerous, type of magic... rated T for language
1. The First

_**A/N: I want to start off by saying thank you for reading this chapter :) An important note, Ryou here is 14 years old to fit the story, I hope you'll be able overlook that. Enjoy :3**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not (DO NOT) own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter.**_

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To say that Bakura was mad would be an understatement. He was beyond angry, furious, as he sat besides his look-alike aboard an airplane. He was sitting up straight, one leg swung over the other and his arms crossed over his chest. His finger tapped impatiently on his arm it was up against. "Why the fuck is this plane taking so long?"

Ryou said nothing, but sunk deeper into the seat next to the window, hoping against hope that the spirit wouldn't take his anger out on him. After Yugi had won Battle City tournament, he was certain that the spirit was gone. But a few peaceful months after the incident, Bakura had suddenly appeared, and in his own body.

**~Flashback~**

Ryou had been finishing his end of the year projects late one night when he heard someone pounding on his door. Cautiously, he walked to the door and peered through the peephole and saw only darkness. He unlocked the door and as soon as he opened just a small crack, the door burst opened, sending Ryou to the ground. The boy could only stare wide-eyed at the figure underneath the door frame. '_N-no...this is impossible._'

Bakura smirked. "What's wrong, little hikari?" The question was innocent enough, but the words were full of malice. "You thought you were rid of me, didn't you?" The smirk became a frown in one quick motion before he shot a hand out and grabbed Ryou by the hair. He slammed the door shut with his foot and proceeded towards the bedroom, dragging a frightened Ryou. "You are lucky that you're the only vessel that can hold me, or you'd be dead."

Shock kept Ryou from struggling as he was pulled by the hair and into his room where he was shoved to the floor. He stayed laying on his stomach. _Why is he here? How does he have his own body?_ He choked back a sob. _Will I ever be rid of him?_

"Get up and pack. We're leaving in ten minutes."

"L-leaving?" Slowly, Ryou turned around until he was sitting up. "Why are we leaving?"

Bakura ignored his question and crouched down in front of the other. He cupped a small cheek in his hand and caressed him with a thumb. "I brought you back a present, little Ryou." He slipped a chain around his neck, holding the golden ring. "Now, start packing, and get only what you really need." He smirked one more time before standing and leaving the room.

With a blank expression, Ryou grabbed his backpack and began stuffing his clothes and toiletries. His hands shook as he fingered the ring. Without thinking, he tore it off his neck and was about throw it outside his window, but a hand gripped his wrist as it was raised over his head. "Don't." The ring was ripped from Ryou's hand and once again placed around his neck.

Bakura never let go of his wrist, but pulled him along all the way to the airport.

**~End Flashback~**

Throughout the whole plane, Bakura twirled a black stick he had taken out of his coat pocket (even though it was too hot for a coat). Ryou stared at it suspiciously. It was possible that it was a hidden weapon.

"Ano...Bakura?" Ryou's voice was barely audiable, but Bakura heard him and glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Where, uh, are we going?"

Bakura stopped twirling and held the stick between his index and middle fingers. "You don't need to know that. Just shut up and do what I say." Biting his bottom lip, Ryou leaned his head against the window to stare out at the clouds.

~/~

The plane hadn't even touched the floor when Bakura grabbed the pairs of backpacks and led Ryou to the exit.

Ryou had to blink from the fierce light before taking a look at where they had landed. _London... We're in London._ He didn't get much time to gape at for he was pulled down the stairs and onto the runway. He was confused, and scared during the whole walk into the airport and out where Bakura called out to a taxi cab. Ryou was pushed inside and after the spirit barked out a few directions, the cab began to move.

There was no doubt that Bakura still wanted his revenge on the Pharaoh, but what could possibly make him come all of the way out here? Minutes passed in silence. Soon, Ryou noticed the smell. It was weak, similar to rotting meat, and it was close. He turned cautiously so as to not attract the attention of the other and quietly sniffed. The horrible smell, he decided, was coming from Bakura.

Noticing the stare and sniffing, Bakura raised his wrist to his nose and inhaled. He frowned. "Fuck, I'm running out of time." He tapped his foot impatiently, making sure to be loud enough for the driver to hear.

The moment, the car stopped in front of a hotel, Bakura rushed out, leaving Ryou to grab the bags and pay the proper amount of money, apologizing for the rude behavior. He entered to cheap-looking building and followed the spirit into the elevator. The smell was becoming worse, bad enough to send Ryou to the other side of the enclosed compartment. _Hurry up, hurry up_. The smaller urged the elevator as he resisted the need to cover his nose and mouth.

Eventually, there was the much awaited _ding_ and the doors slip open to let in the moldy, but fresh scent of the hallway. Bakura ran out with Ryou in tow. He had already thought of escaping, but even if he was able to lose the spirit (who would undoubtably send monsters and shadows after him), he was the one holding almost all of the money, which would leave Ryou stranded there.

He watched Bakura stick in a key, unlock the door numbered 23, kick the door open and then be shoved in. Ryou stumbled a little but managed not to land flat on his face. He didn't even get a chance to stand up straight as he was gripped by the upper arm and lead to the bathroom. Again, Bakura kicked the door open and threw the boy onto the closed toilet. "You'd better not make a single noise." He hissed.

Suddenly, he placed his hand on top of the silver mat of hair and placed the black stick on Ryou's lap at the same time. He let his soul become free and be instantly absorbed by the body before him. The ring gave off a natural call to its inhabitant, making it easy to enter his host's body.

Ryou flinched at the intrusion, but he was still in control. He thought that for sure Bakura would take over, but then wondered why he'd want to come back when he had his own body.

Said body stood completely still, and Ryou watched in horror as it changed shape. It became larger, bulkier, and the silver hair turned brown and sunk back into the skull. Brown eyes changed to black, empty ones while facial hair sprouted out. This man let his jaw drop as blood poured out. The lifeless corpse then fell forward onto Ryou, enveloping him in warm blood and a rotting stench.

Ryou was frozen in place, unable to believe what had just taken place. His whole body shook violently as he felt the blood soak into his shirt and touch his pale skin. That was enough to send his stomach churning. He shoved the body away from him, got off the toilet and lean over it to vomit the light lunch he had on the plane. He sobbed in between, nearly choking in the process.

Inside his mind, a hysterical laughter echoed gleefully. _I'm back, my little hikari..._

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**A/N: Ok, so what do you think? I would very much appreciate reviews on this new crossover. Ja ne~ :3**_


	2. The Second

_**A/N: This isn't a very long chapter, but I wanted to put something up before I began studying for finals and ignoring everything else. Please enjoy :3**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot *cries in corner for not being able to own Ryou* **_

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The figure moved through the trees stealthily, shrouded by the shadows. His movements were deliberate, stepping in the right spots to avoid any light. To the normal onlooker, it would appear as if he were dancing in the night, that is, if he were spotted. But no, as the Thief King he knew how to blend into the surroundings while moving.

He paused at the edge of a clearing where a lone house stood. There were no lights turned on, a positive sign for the one planning to enter. The figure stepped closer to survey the levels of security. There were a few protective spells and wards, but his shadow magic could bypass it if Bakura concentrated. He let his body become enveloped in shadows with every step he took towards the back of the house. The thief didn't even have to pause in his steps to pick the door, but was able to unlock it in one swift movement.

Inside the lovely adorned house, Bakura let the shadows drop as he went into the hallway from the kitchen he had entered through. Taking out the black wand he had been carrying, he now held it in front of him. "Lumos." The wand tip exploded in a puff of smoke before turning into the soft light. Bakura cursed and decided to grab what he came for and leave before the wand acted up again.

As quietly as he could, he sneaked upstairs to where he imagined all of the books were kept. If he remembered the dead man's information correctly, the book he was looking for would be hidden in a chest hiding behind a book case. Well, that would take a while considering the room Bakura had just walked into was filled with shelves upon shelves of books. He growled in annoyance and began his search the easy way. Dark streaks slithered across the floor to investigate every opening, including the tiny cracks on the wall.

Eventually, Bakura found it. He moved to the corner of the room and shoved the book case away. Reaching behind it, he felt what he was looking for and dragged it out by the handle. It was a very thin, suitcase sort of thing. Bakura fingered all around it and laughed when there was not a spell or lock protecting it. _He probably never thought that anyone would make it this far._

Opening it, he rummaged through the ten or so books until he found the one he was looking for, _Death and Rebirth_. He slipped it into his coat just as the door behind him slammed shut. "Shit!" He muttered. There must have been some sort of defense he had overlooked. Thinking quickly, he grabbed another book and hurled it at a window, shattering the glass. He ran and leaped out, hearing the feint sound of a door being torn open.

"And now, for my great escape." Bakura smirked and took off full speed into the forest. Normally, he wouldn't have celebrated until after he was safe and away from any potential threat, but the feel of the thick pages against his chest was too much. In his mind, he was already triumphant. It was because of that thinking that he failed to avoid the spell that hit him square on the back.

"LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!" Cried a voice from the room Bakura had just jumped from.

The thief fell forward on his face as soon as his legs were locked together. His wand had flown from his hand a few feet away. Already, he heard footsteps approaching quickly, the footsteps of a wizard. He couldn't let himself be discovered by these humans, not after he learned from his former body what they thought of those of darkness and having an army of magical people after him was not what he wanted at the moment.

He saw only one way out at the moment, so Bakura shoved Ryou back in control. _Act like your stupid self and tell him nothing_. He barked at Ryou.

The boy blinked and looked around wildly. He tried standing up but for some reason, his legs stayed stuck together. "Turn around." A voice from behind him ordered.

Panicked, Ryou sat up and stared at the strange person pointing a stick similar to the one he'd seen Bakura with. "What...who...?" Nothing made sense anymore, not with the spirit back. He glanced at his legs to see nothing holding them together. Using his hands, he tried prying them apart but to no avail. _What has the spirit done now?_

"Who are you."

Ryou flinched at how icy cold the man's words were. The voice matched the dark eyes perfectly, part of them blocked by the long black hair the he pulled back with his hand. Was he going to hurt him? What if he wanted revenge for whatever Bakura had done? Ryou shifted back as far as he could. He wasn't able to go very far for he soon bumped into a tree.

"Well?" The man continued.

"B-Bakura Ryou..." The answer was barely audible, but the other heard it for he quirked an eyebrow.

"Bakura? Related to Alden Bakura?"

Ryou cocked his head a small fraction. "You know my father?"

However, the boy was completely ignored as the man continued his questions. "Who sent you?"

_No one_. "I-I don't know." _You don't remember anything_. "I was, in Japan, t-then London, a-and..." _You know nothing_. "I can't stop it." His voice faltered at the end as he listened to Bakura whisper to him. _Don't you dare give him back the book_.

The man side-stepped him and picked up the fallen stick to study. He then pocketed it and stared at Ryou suspiciously. "Get up and follow me. If you run, I'll see to it that you won't be able to again." It was a threat that wasn't meant to be taken lightly.

The pressure on Ryou's legs disappeared, letting him do as the other ordered. They went back into the house where Ryou stood awkwardly in what seemed to be the living room while the man hunched over a desk and scribbled onto a piece of paper. When he was finished, he slipped it into an envelope and went to the window. That was when Ryou first noticed the caged owl that sat there and stared in puzzlement as the man gave it the letter and threw the bird out into the air.

He then turned to the young boy and nodded once to a chair, implying that he take a seat. He himself sat and stared imposingly at Ryou. "Tell me, do you know who I am or where you are?" The boy shook his head. "I am Severus Snape, and you have just broken into my house. For what reasons, only you can tell me."

"I honestly don't know." Ryou said. "I have these...lapses in my memory. The last thing I recall is-" crying myself to sleep "is lying on my bed and going to sleep. Then I'm on the ground with you pointing that, stick at me."

Severus pulled said stick and laid it between the two of them on the desk. "This _stick_ as you have called it, is a wand." Ryou didn't even hide his disbelieving expression. "Only a wizard can use it; they go to schools to train, which is where I met Mr. Alden Bakura." He paused. "Your father is a wizard and, judging by how you were able to enter this house, so are you."

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_**A/N: I have no idea what Ryou's father's name is so I just put some English name, but if you happen to know, please tell me (in a PM or review) Please review :3**_


	3. The Third

_**A/N: I'm back with another chapter. Not much development here, just more explaining, I apologize for that. And thank you all those that reviewed and added this little story to their alerts and favorites :3**_

_**Disclaimer: No, I do not own YGO nor HP no matter how much I wish for it (or own Ryou at least)**_

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Why was Ryou always kept in the dark? Back when Kaiba had set up his own tournament, he was hardly ever in control. It was all one big black empty spot in his memory. Normally, he wouldn't have asked about it, but the injury on his arm worried him and no matter who he went to, they always avoided that subject. And because he never pressured anyone into telling him, he never knew exactly what had happened.

Now, after being told that his father was a wizard, he was to wait until another person showed up. This was his _father_ they were talking about, so he had a right to know about him. Ryou, though, remained quiet and obedient.

At one point, Snape left the room and at Bakura's orders, he took out the old heavy book and kicked it under the desk so that he wouldn't be caught with it; the spirit could get it back later. When Snape returned, he was holding two cups and one was placed before him. "It's tea." The man said.

Ryou took hold of the cup with both hands and blew on it gently. He was about to sip some of it when Bakura decided to yell. _Idiot! Don't drink that! _Ryou jumped in surprise and dropped the tea onto the floor. "I-I'm sorry. I'll clean it up." He picked up the cup and placed it on the desk, then looked around for something that could soak up. _Why not?_ He asked Bakura.

_He put something in there. Don't ever trust a wizard; with all of that magic they do, they can easily trick a stupid kid like you. _

_So, Bakura believes in wizards too._ Ryou thought to himself. Not finding anything to clean the mess up with, he began making his way to the kitchen but was stopped by the man.

"Leave it." He picked up his wand and with a swish, all of the liquid disappeared. Ryou stared in amazement and even bent down to pat the now dry spot.

"It really is magic." Ryou muttered as he took his seat again. "And I can do that too?"

Snape nodded. "No regular muggle would have been able to enter this house."

_Muggle?_ Ryou wanted to ask what that was, but Snape was leafing through a book, completely entertained. _Maybe it means human. But wizards are human too, maybe._ While he mused the thought over in his head, there was a steady knock at the front door. Snape stood and glanced at Ryou, telling him to follow. When he didn't, the man raised an eyebrow. "Well?" He said impatiently.

The boy walked behind him and stayed back as the door was opened. He watched the man enter calmly. His white beard rivaled Ryou's hair in color, but beat him in length. Eyes behind spectacles twinkled in kindness upon glancing at him. With a smile, the man who seemed to be as old as his style of clothing introduced himself to Ryou. "Good evening. I am Albus Precival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. However, you may call me Dumbledore."

Ryou smiled slightly at the man's kindness and bowed deeply. "Bak- Ryou Bakura." He had forgotten about saying his first name before his last And maybe a handshake would have been better than a bow. Uncertain with what to do next, he decided to let them begin.

They all took seats on the different couches before Dumbledore began. "Severus here tells me that you broke into his house. But as soon as he caught you, all of your memories were lost." Ryou nodded. "And that you seem to have to prior knowledge of wizards or magic."

_Probably not the kind of magic you're thinking about._ Ryou thought. "No, sir. But Mr. Snape said that my father is a wizard, is that true?"

"It is." The headmaster said. "He was a student at Hogwarts for seven years. A bright, but rather withdrawn boy, if I do remember correctly. But he honestly never seemed to be interested in our world. He preferred the past; history and the origin of civilizations, especially muggle civilizations. So after a few years of Auror training (his chosen career), he simply left and cut all ties with magic." He paused to look at the boy with wide eyes. This must be a big discovery, a whole other side to his father. But he had a right to know especially under these circumstances. "But that was common during that time, to live like a muggle when times are dark. It is your case that is strange."

"My case?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Every child born with magic shows some sign of it in their early years. It is then recorded and the child put on a list for a school. This system never fails and no wizard is ever missed. Except you, and that in itself makes you suspicious."

"B-but..." Ryou really had not much to say to counter his statement. He _was_ suspicious. He had an evil malicious spirit living in him for crying out loud, one that killed a man just recently.

"Maybe having a look in his mind would be helpful." Snape suggested.

The boy stared at him. "You can do that?" What if they found out he was lying to them? Would they throw him in jail, if they even had one? _Let them do as they please_. Ryou shivered at Bakura's dark words. _They won't find anything interesting in this mind_.

Dumbledore stared at Ryou seriously. "Would you allow us to? Only the recent events."

"Ok..." Ryou leaned into his seat and closed his eyes. However, he wasn't prepared for the sudden intrusion, similar, but less malicious than, Bakura's. Memories of the days he spent at school, talking to Yugi, reading, sped through his head. Not one thought of the Pharaoh nor the Egyptian items appeared. The intruder probed deeper into his feelings. There was fear, sadness and overwhelming loneliness. Despite those feelings though, was happiness at finally being able to have friends even if they didn't talk to him much. Ryou allowed a small smile to appear on his lips at their memory. Then came the day Bakura returned. There was a knock on the door, but just as soon as it was opened, darkness flooded everything and the probing stopped.

Brown eyes fluttered open to look at a puzzled Snape. "It appears that some of his memories are blocked." Bakura started laughing, threatening to give Ryou a headache. _Those weak humans can't even get past that thin layer of darkness. This is just too easy!_ "Could this be an added effect to the Imperio spell?" Snape continued. "The chances of him knowing Occulmency are low."

"Curious, very curious." Dumbledore approached Ryou and patted his head. "It may be a bit late and sudden, but how would you like to come to Hogwarts to study? It could be dangerous to have an untrained wizard walking around."

Ryou shook his head furiously. "I don't even...I can't just..."

"I understand if you would like a few days to think about it," the headmaster said "but I am sorry to say that we can not leave you alone for the moment. We are still not sure of what exactly has happened or who is behind it all." He turned to Snape. "Would you allow him to stay here for the remainder of the night?"

"Of course." the professor glanced at Ryou. "I'll make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

Ryou gulped. That man can be really scary, like Kaiba sort-of. He stood and bowed again, feeling the need to apologize. "I am very sorry for all of this."

"There is no need for that." Dumbledore assured him. "Go get some rest, it looks like you need it." He sat and waited while the professor led Ryou upstairs and into a spare room, the one with the barred window.

Snape pointed at a wardrobe in the corner. "There are spare clothes that might fit you. Have a good night." The door closed, followed by a soft click.

"Looks like he locked it." Ryou said to himself. _But I can easily escape._ Bakura respond.

_Please don't. We don't know what they're capable of._

_ Shut up. Don't forget that I'm the one who makes the decisions, Yadonushi. But we are not leaving without that book._

Ryou crawled into the small bed to hide under the covers. _Whatever you're planning, Yugi will stop you._  
Bakura laughed._ This doesn't concern him or that stupid Pharaoh. Only me, you, and this new magic. And if you don't feel like cooperating, I can always find another wizard who's body I can use. Then another once his body rots. And I can start with one of the ones downstairs..._

_S-stop. I get it, so, don't hurt anyone else._

_ I knew you'd understand._

Ryou hugged himself and tried focusing on good thoughts as sudden sleep began to overcome him. One thought, though, pierced through. _Why was Bakura giving him control?_

~/~/~/~/~

Snape walked back down to where the older man waited still. "I've put up a few wards and put him to sleep. He shouldn't be waking up until morning." He remained standing across Dumbledore. "I never knew Bakura had a son."

"Apparently, no one did." The man sighed. "But I am sure Bakura had his reasons for hiding him and this whole world. But it would be better for his son to be the one to bring it up. He might not like us to interfere into his life again." He sighed. "What do you think of the boy, Severus?"

"On the outside he is quiet and submissive, but it could all be an act. I offered him some tea with truth-telling potion," Dumbledore gave him a dangerous look "but he spilled it before drinking any of it. He either knows nothing, or everything."

The headmaster nodded warily. "We'll have to be wary of whoever is behind it all. And this upcoming year will be dangerous with the tournament. Hopefully, it'll go well without any problems."

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Ryou couldn't help but to stare, disbelieving, at Snape's words. "You've never heard of one before?"

"I don't use muggle, contraptions."

"But a phone..." In what age did these wizards live in? "I guess that's fine. How do you communicate then?"

"By owl." Not once did Snape look up from his work. He stood over a counter, dropping in this and that into a large black pot. It was bubbling over a fire and changed color with every ingredient that was added into it. "Hand me a lizard's tail."

Ryou reached from his seat to the edge and grabbed a small metal can. Hesitantly, he plucked out a plump scaly tail and placed it on the outstretched hand. After a small breakfast, Ryou had followed Snape into the small potions room, being fascinated by the occult and all. He would fetch things while asking small questions. When he felt that he was becoming a bother, he would be quiet for a while, then ask another question. No real conversation could be started though, because Snape gave short, straightforward answers.

He watched in amazement as the olive green substance turned blue. "Then, would it be ok to go into the city to use a phone?"

"Use the owl."

"Won't that take too long?" Ryou really wanted to contact his father soon, before he could decide whether to go to this wizard school or not.

"A few days."

"But I can talk to him right away with a phone," Snape glanced at him with an icy stare for less than a second, but that was enough, "or I can wait a bit by owl."

"There is parchment on the desk. When you are done, hand the letter to the owl in the cage." He waved the boy off then continued with writing down notes in his book.

Ryou hopped off and walked to the living room. Before going to the desk, he bent down to check underneath. Sure enough, the book was still there. He reached for it-_Leave it!_ He snapped his hand back and stumbled to his feet. _Stay away from it or that wizard will find out_. Came the growl. The host quickly moved to the desk, acting as if nothing happened.

Sighing, Ryou spread out and ancient piece of paper before him. Not finding a pen, he grabbed a long quill and opened a bottle of ink next to it. He practiced writing on another paper and once he was satisfied and comfortable with it, he moved to the letter. 'Dear...'

He paused. How was he going to address him? Father would be appropriate. 'Dear Father. It is Ryou. I am not in Japan right now, but in London, staying with a man who you might remember as Severus Snape. He seemed to know about you, too. He, as well as Albus Dumbledore, have explained to me about being a wizard, you and me. They want to recruit me to...' he struggled to remember the full name and eventually decided to keep it as Hogwarts. 'I will probably go considering that I am untrained in magic.' Maybe going for a while wouldn't hurt. 'They also told me that I had been missed in the school lists. Was that you?' Was he being too direct? Hopefully not. 'Why didn't you ever tell me? Did mom know too? I don't have the slightest clue of what is happening, or why, only that I can do magic. Please write back soon and explain, I have the right to know. Your son, Ryou.'

A short letter, but sufficient. After folding it and putting it in an envelope, he walked over to the cage. Cautiously, Ryou opened the small door and held out the letter. The owl snapped it away and jumped out onto his arm. Ryou managed to keep a scream from escaping his lips as he moved slowly to the window, opened it, and stuck the bird out. It seemed to mock him with a hoot for being a novice before flapping its great wings and flying away. Ryou watched it turn into a little speck in the cloudless sky, wondering if the bird even knew where it was supposed to go.

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_**A/N: My HP knowledge is a little rusty so I had to search online for a few things. What I couldn't find, I tried hard to keep it true. Anyways, school won't start until maybe two chapters later, one if I'm lucky, so please be patient with me. **_


	4. The Fourth

_**A/N: I honestly, truly, tried my best to avoid any OOC so I am sorry if I disappoint -_-. And I apologize for the length if it bothers you at all.**_

_**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the name Regard Ocalus which was made up on the spot and will probably never be mentioned again.**_

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It was decided unofficially that Ryou would be staying with Severus Snape. When Dumbledore had visited the room Ryou had checked out, it was a complete shock when the dead and well rotted body was found in the bathroom tub. More surprisingly, though, was the fact that this man had been a suspected Death Eater. Regard Ocalus had never been accused because of the lack of evidence, but there were always rumors going around.

After transporting the body elsewhere (A/N:not sure how exactly; just imagine something) and gathering Ryou's bags did he return to Snape's home hidden in the trees. Neither him nor the boy mentioned the dead man; Dumbledore because he didn't want to scare the other, and Ryou because he wasn't supposed to know anything about it. That being the case, Ryou acted surprised at seeing some of his stuff here in London. He was aware, though, that he was now going to be under constant watch under these two men.

For the next three days, Bakura stayed relatively quiet. He also seemed to be watching the potion making and any spells cast through Ryou's eyes. The boy didn't complain, he preferred it that way. Just as long as he didn't bring up the 'attempted' theft or got too close to the book, he would be left on his own. Maybe the spirit did want to go to this wizard school but was too prideful to suggest it.

On the fourth day, the dark owl appeared tapping on the window with a piece of parchment tied on its leg. Anxious and nervous, Ryou ran up to it and was in the process of untying the thin string when the letter was snatched away from his hands. He looked behind him, confused, at Snape who was reading the the small yellow paper. It only took a few seconds before the man nodded once at Ryou and walked to the other side to kneel by the dead fireplace. He obviously expected the young boy to follow him as he set to work on lighting a small fire.

Once it was lit, Snape stepped back. Ryou moved closer. "The letter, was it..."

"It was Bakura, but address to me."

Ryou's breath caught in his throat. _He didn't write back to me?_

He could picture the spirit inside of him grin. _I told you you were nothing. Not even your own father wants to talk to you._

_N-no. There must be a reason for it_. Ryou sat down on the wooden floor with his knees curled up against his chest.

He gazed into the hot fire, unaware of Snape watching him with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't a man of comforting word so he only stood and waited. It wasn't long until the ashes began to shift and move. "Bakura." He called.

Ryou, thinking that he was being talked to, look up. He saw that Snape wasn't looking at him so he followed the gaze and nearly fell back. By now, he was getting tired of all these unannounced magic tricks the wizards were pulling out of thin air. A face had formed in the ashes, a very familiar one to Ryou.

"Dad?" Quickly, he crawled over as close as he could get.

The face smiled. "Hello Ryou. Sorry I haven't checked in on you in a while."

"It's ok." Ryou was just glad to see his father again.

"I trust that Snape is taking good care you? Don't mind his stiffness, he's been like that since he was a kid." The archeologist laughed. Ryou gave a nervous one and risked a glance at said man, he was glad that the glare wasn't directed at him. "But," the man continued, "it looks like we have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah." Getting comfortable with the strange way of talking, Ryou sat down on his butt with his knees bent at his sides. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Alden sighed. "While you were inside your mother, the wizardry world was dark and dangerous. We saw the tension years ago and to escape, we decided to live like regular people and raise you and your sister normally."

"Was mom a wizard too?" Ryou inturrupted.

"A witch, and a talented one too." There was a moment of silence before the tale continued. "Your mother, who was amazing with charms, put one on you to keep your magic unnoticed. Instead of bursting out, it would, in a way, leak out slowly and without attracting any attention. This way, we could keep you hidden.

"Eventually, things got better and we were even thinking of letting you attend a wizard school. Amane as well if she turned out to be a witch." He sighed. "But then there was the accident."

"Mom and Amane's death." Ryou whispered. He could barely remember what happened that day since he was still small. But the red car heading straight into them as they both waved at him while crossing the street was all too clear.

"Ryou." His dad said seriously. "I believe that you are old enough, but don't look too deep into this. It was a complete accident and blaming ourselves won't do any good." At his son's nod, Alden sighed. "Your mom had left her wand out because she had finally decided to expose you two to magic. But she wanted to get a few snacks first to have the perfect little magic show." He smiled at the memory. "So she grabbed your sister and left to the store. But you saw the wand on the counter and ran outside with it. And just as they were walking across the street, the wand reacted and hit a car. It went out of control and..." He didn't have to finish the story.

Ryou's voice cracked as he spoke. "You mean that I...killed them?"

"I just said not to blame yourself. You were young and knew nothing. That incident proved to me that magic was dangerous so I grabbed that wand and my own and snapped them in half.

"But then, those around you started falling into comas and it scared me. I checked again and again on that charm your mother left on you, but it was still intact, so it wasn't your magic doing it. I thought that maybe someone was after us, so we kept moving around, but no matter where we went, it happened. It was probably my fault which was why I left you in Japan and sure enough, it stopped. I'm sorry for neglecting you for so long, but I thought I was protecting you. I was obviously wrong."

Snape decided to join in. "What comas are you talking about."

"Ah, Severus." Alden nodded (sort-of) at him. "I'm sure you have heard of it since wizards also looked into it. About children falling asleep and not waking up, until recently that they all just opened their eyes out of the blue."

_And they still can't find an explanation for that._ The spirit said proudly.

"And your son was around them?"

"I already said that I checked him myself. He had no fault in it." Alden defended him.

Ryou looked at the floor with guilt. _He'll hate for sure if he ever found out about the spirit. They'll all blame me_.

"Has anyone else looked into this?" Snape continued.

"There was no need to, and it stopped anyhow. Really, you haven't changed at all with all of this suspicion." Alden said.

"Have you known him for a while?" Ryou asked.

Snaped stepped back again to let Alden answer. "We were at Hogwarts together for a while, but I was two years above him, and in a different house. Still, we had our fair share of, interesting, conversations."

"Different house?"

"Snape will explain later. I'm running out of time right now, so I'll be leaving soon. But before that, are you going to Hogwarts? Now that you know about magic, you should have the right to choose."

"I, think so." Of course he had to go. There was no way he was going to let another accident happen when he could have prevented it. A few lessons would be nice and if he were lucky, find a way to rid himself of Bakura, but that would have to stay a complete secret. There was no telling what the spirit would do if he ever found out.

"I'll leave you in Severus' care than. I'd be there, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done here at the site."

"Yes, father." Ryou smiled.

The ash-face turned to Snape."Severus.".

"Alden." The other responded. And with that, the face disappeared. Snape now gave his attention to Ryou. "You'll be attending school late, so you have three years worth of knowledge to catch up on, if you do end up in the fourth year. There are old potions textbooks in the library, you can start there."

"Three years? So it's not just a few lessons?"

"It's seven years. You can start studying now." Snape was relieved to find something to entertain the boy to keep him from pestering with questions.

Nodding, Ryou left to go upstairs and begin with this impossible task. There is no way he can fit three years into a couple of months. Walking into the room full of books, he gazed at the multiple shelves everywhere. Looking through them, he picked titled _Potions for Beginners_. With that under his arm, he kept reading different titles until one caught his attention. _Possessions_. He was pulling it out when Bakura noticed. _What are you doing, Yadonushi?_

Ryou slammed the book back. _Nothing_. Quickly, he sat against a book case and opened the to the first page. There was a total of 59 lessons with some split into multiple parts._ I guess starting now is a good idea_.

Time sped. It was at first days, then weeks, then a whole month and Ryou was clearly becoming overwhelmed. His non-stop cramming was taking over all of his time and without a real wand, he couldn't really know if was doing a lot of the things right. However, he quickly found he had an affinity for potions. Snape had let him borrow some of his supplies to practice on (with supervision, of course). He was able to slice ingredients with ease and could estimate correct amounts without using a scale. For once, all of his cooking skills were paying off and he was glad for that.

What he really enjoyed was the stoic man's praise even if it was a simple nod or a satisfied "Hmmm." Hardly anyone praised or acknowledged him much nowadays so he was content with this amount of it.

Ryou managed to multitask and would recite memorized spells and charms while making potions. For hand movements, he took to using the mixing spoon to practice. He did his best with memorization for defense against the dark arts, and read from history book before going to sleep as a substitute for regular novels. Herbology was limited to diagrams and three to four actual plants and since Snape had no enchanted broomsticks, flying was out of the question.

It wasn't until there was half a month left that Ryou met another person. It was a tall, aging woman with brown hair tied up in a tight bun. She knocked on the door in three short beats and waited standing straight for the white-haired boy to answer it. "I take it that you're Ryou Bakura."

"Yes, m'am." He answered politely.

Accepting the curt reply, she introduced herself. "I am Minerva McGonagall, the transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. I am here to escort you to Diagon Alley." She was met with a black stare. "Severus didn't tell you then?"

"About what?"

"Getting your wand and school supplies for year."

"I'm getting a wand?" Ryou couldn't hide the excitement from his voice. He already know he couldn't use one since he was underage, but at least owning a wand would be great. He asked Snape about what kind of magic he could do a while back. He refused to demonstrate much, saying that he wasn't a freak show to marvel over and that if he was curious, he could always read more about it.

McGonagall sighed. "May I come in?"

"Oh, of course. Sorry." Ryou let her pass and closed the door behind her. He led her to the living room. "Would you like some tea?"

The professor had in no way imagined being offered tea straight away in Snape's home. It was usually business between them. If a conversation would be a long one, that was when tea was brought out. More curious than that was the fact that this boy had made himself so comfortable here. She watched him rush into the kitchen and nearly bump into the potions professor. "Miss Minerva McGonagall is here, so I'm going to put on some tea. Would you like some?" She heard him say.

"If it isn't sweet." Snape said before entering the room the woman was in.

They greeted using each other's first name then began with their to-the-point conversation. "You didn't tell him about arrival."

"It must have slipped my mind." Snape took a seat across from her. It actually had slipped his mind. He was too busy preparing lectures and coming up with long assignment to accompany them that past week.

McGonagall looked to the direction of the kitchen. "Dumbledore said that that, boy, was able to break into you house. Had it not come from him, I would've had a lot of trouble believing it."

"He did. We guess that he was under one of the unforgivable curses. He was found in the library but caught empty-handed. Later, a Regard Ocalus was found dead in the place he was staying at."

They stopped their talk there upon hearing Ryou's careful steps. He carried a tray with the teacups and kettle and set in on the table that stood in the center. Both adults eyed him as he expertly poured their cups handed them. McGonagall waited until the others took a sip of their tea before doing so herself. The whole process was silent.

The lady in the group was the first to finish. "Ryou, are you ready to leave? I'll explain once we are there." She turned to Snape. "You won't mind if I used your fireplace?"

"Not at all." He put down his cup and led them to it.

Ryou watched curiously as the fire was lit and the witch took out a small silver pouch from her robe. She opened it and held it out towards him. "Take a small fistful and throw it into the fire. Once it turns green concentrate on the destination Diagon Alley, and jump in."

"Ok-wait, jump in?"

"It won't hurt a bit. It's just a way to travel, using the Floo Network."

_Floo Network..._Ryou vaguely remembered reading a small entry on that. He did as instructed and tossed the silver powder, screamed Diagon Alley in his head (at which Bakura yelled at him to shut up) and jumped. He felt as if he were pushed and pulled, then finally thrown onto cold floor. His soon-to-be teacher appeared next to him as he dusted the black robe he had borrowed from Snape.

Both of them walked out of the small shop they appeared in and Ryou couldn't help but to smile in delight. The whole street looked like something from a movie, with its fancy shops advertising the strangest things. "Here is your letter with the list of things you'll need."

Ryou read through it. "Can we really find all of this here?"

"Yes, and we will start with the robes. Don't worry about the money, the ministry will be paying for it this year." The witch began walking briskly towards a shop with clothing being displayed in a window.

"You'll really be paying for all of this?" Ryou went through the list again. He had no idea how much it would cost, but if these book were as much as his other school's textbooks, then it could add up to a lot.

"The ministry will. Since your registration was missed, Dumbledore had managed to pin it on them, so they'll be paying for you this year as an apology." She smiled slyly. "But no one else knows about your father hiding you, so I suggest you don't go advertising it; Mr. Bakura could get in trouble for hiding a wizard like that."

"Yes m'am." Endangering his father was the last thing he wanted to do.

They walked into the small shop where Ryou was asked to stand on a short stool to be fitted and measured. The woman worked fast, throwing on black fabric and sticking it with hundreds of needles without poking the boy once. Four robes for Hogwarts were ordered along with two pairs of black shoes which were to be picked up in a few hours. Aside from that, he also had to get dress robes for an upcoming event. Ryou settled for a light blue, almost coat-like robe with white laces on the end of the sleeves.

The next shop was called Flourish and Blotts, the book store. Ryou's mouth fell open at all of the books. It was the professor though, that had to find the right ones since he was easily distracted with leafing through as many books as he could. He ignored the fact that Bakura was also looking around with mild interest. He was sure that the spirit wouldn't try to take over with all of these people around. Now that he thought about it, Bakura hadn't taken over his body at all. Maybe he was afraid of wizards.

You wish. His Yami said. I don't need the extra attention right now.

Ryou didn't pry, he knew better than to bother him.

Eventually, they had to leave the shop and head on over to buy parchment, quills, ink and such. When Ryou asked if he was allowed to use pens, McGonagall handed him a fountain pen and said that that was as close as he would get. He sighed and accepted the fact that he would now be living in medieval times for a while.

As they continued walking, Ryou stopped in front of the pet shop. "Can we look inside?" He asked.

"I suppose a quick look wouldn't hurt. But the ministry can't cover for an animal so you'll have to wait until next year." She said as a warning to not get attached to anything.

He marveled at all of the large owls, cute kittens, and tiny mice that seemed to be everywhere. "Hi there little kitty." He cooed as he stuck a finger into a cage to pet a fluffy spotted cat. Once his legs were aching from squatting down, he stood and walked to the other side of the store. There was a glass cage with snakes. He wasn't a big fan of them, but Bakura was (the spirit grinned to himself at the thought of those sharp fangs piercing through skin). Ryou counted four different ones camouflaging in the background and had to admit that their scale patterns were beautiful.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, signaling that it was time to go. Ryou looked at the snakes one more time, specifically to the watching him and moving from side to side as if dancing. "Good bye, snakes." He whispered. The hand on him stiffened and he glanced up quickly. McGonagall had a strange, shocked expression as she stared at him. It made him nervous. "Is something wrong?"

McGonagall snapped out of it and regained her usual strict look. "Nothing at all. We need to leave, we still have your wand to pick out." She led him out and over to Ollivander's, a small and shabby little shop. This was the moment Ryou was waiting for.

Walking in, the professor took a seat on a chair after waving him over to the counter. Spotting no one, he rang a little bell close by. "Ano...Hello, anyone here?" A man appeared from the side, thin and pale, like the boxes he was carrying under his arms.

"Well, do I have a costumer so early in the year?" He shuffled over and put the boxes down. "I was just doing a few arrangements before the usual pool of students showed up."

"Hello, sir. My name is Ryou Bakura, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"And what a polite child too. Feel free to call me Mr. Ollivander." He scanned Ryou. "Aren't you a little too old for a first year?"

"Yes...it seems the ministry overlooked me, so I'll be starting as a fourth year." Ryou followed McGonagall's story even if he wasn't completely sure about it.

"Ah! Better late than never. And your father, Aldan Bakura, correct?" Ryou nodded in surprise. Mr. Ollivander smiled. "I remember every wand I've ever sold and to whom. Now," he clapped his hands "shall we get started?"

(A/N:these wands were taken directly from HP1, pg 84.) From the pile of boxes he had brought from him, he picked one out and handed it to Ryou. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible." Ryou took it and flicked it like he had been practicing, but it was snatched away quickly and replaced with another. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy." Again, Ryou tried but the same thing happened again. "No, no. Not that one."

He was handed wand after wand until he was surrounded to the waist with his own unsuccessful trials. Was he going to have to try all of them? Almost an hour had passed and only a quarter of the wands have been tried. He was starting to feel dejected. "Maybe none of these will work."

"Oh, don't talk like that." The wandmaker said sternly. "We'll find the perfect one. I haven't failed yet." Still, after twenty more tries, nothing.

Mr. Ollivander scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm, it might be time to try _that_." He reached into his own robes and pulled out a wand. "This," he held it out on his palm "was tweaked thirty years ago with a special ability. I've never had the chance to use it since I like to challenge myself first, so now's a good time." He gave it to Ryou. "Now, you will simply swish it in the air and say _Accio Wand_. Then, the correct wand will come flying to you. Go on, try it."

Ryou breathed in deeply. "Accio Wand." Silence overcame the shop for a few second, until a huge crash came from the very back. It was followed by another crash, closer this time. Finally, a box came to view, flying like a blur in the air and gave Ryou no time to move out of the way. He was thrown to the floor as the box hit him right on the forehead.

McGonagall stepped in and helped him back up. Ryou clutched the bruised spot and held on to the wand and attacker in the other hand. He handed them both to Mr. Ollivander. "Forgive me about that. This was the first time it was used that after all." He proceeded in opening the container and pulled out the wand. "Well, isn't this a surprise." To Ryou, it looked like all of the other ones except that one of the tips was white. "A double-ended wand, a creation of mine. It is literally two wands in one with each half having a different core. I made ten of them but only sold three in the past forty years, so there was really no point in making any more. And today I get to see another one go." He held it out the white end for Ryou to see. "A chip of unicorn horn," he flipped it to the dark end "and a few drops of dragon blood. The whole wand is from papyrus. Twelve inches. Highly flexible."

Ryou took it and it somehow felt right in his hand. Mr. Ollivander leaned in and whispered. "Just to warn you, the other customers were a little...different right here." He tapped the side of his own head before standing straight again. "You gave me quite an experience I'll be sure to share later on."

Glad to be done with the whole ordeal, McGonagall paid him and both of them left to pick up the robes and called it a day. They were walking back to the shop where they appeared from when McGonagall spoke again. "Most teachers return to Hogwarts a few weeks early to set up. Severus is one of them so you'll be moving in sooner than all other the students. That way, you can meet the other professors and take a few lesson from them. Expect some from me as well."  
"Yes m'am." Ryou smiled as Bakura issued another order. _Get the book tonight and hide it in you bag. And don't get caught_.

_I won't._ Ryou didn't know if he should be thankful or guilty at the fact that Snape no longer locked his door at night.

* * *

_**A/N: And there you have it. Think of this as an early gift and, since the day isn't over yet, in my time anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIK-KUN (even though you don't appear in this fanfic, I still love you) X3**_


	5. The Fifth

_**A/N: I just want you all to know that I am want to write something different from what I usually read in fanfics but some things are unavoidable. Enjoy :3**_

_**Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own anything, only the plot line used in this fanfic**_

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When it was close to midnight, Ryou got out of bed and opened the door as quietly as he could. Peering out, he slowly crept out and made his way to the wooden desk that hid Bakura's precious book from sight. The spirit had come up with a plan because he was so sure that Snape would know they had left their room somehow. Ryou was going to get caught, so they will turn that to their advantage.

As quickly as he could, Ryou retrieved the book and hid it in the oversized robe he was wearing. Instead of going back into his room, though, he entered the small library and lit a few candles. There were a few books stacked on the table where he studied and he made his way to them. He sat and opened the one on the top and began reading. It wasn't long until Snape entered the room.

There was a slight frown on his face as he stood by the door with a pose that demanded an explanation. Ryou hated having to lie to him, to deceive him. Snape had been nice (in his own way) to him by letting him stay in his house, giving him clothes, and teaching him potions and basics about the wizardry world. But if he confessed to following the orders of the spirit inside of him, not only would Bakura give him hell for it, the wizards and even his dad might lock him away before Bakura killed them all.

"Why are you out of bed?" Snape didn't sound too suspicious, just demanding.

Ryou breathed heavily to himself. He was used to lying, and putting up a good act, so this shouldn't be different. "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep so I came here to read a bit. Sorry if I woke you up."

The man looked at him a while longer, causing Ryou to panic inside. He was a bit relieved by Snape's next words. "Don't stay too long; we're packing and leaving tomorrow."

Ryou jumped to his feet. "Tomorrow?" After seeing Snape's warning glare, he muttered a quick "sorry" and sat back down.

"Yes. Tomorrow. You need to be up by seven and ready to leave by ten."

He was leaving when he was stopped by Ryou. "Um, Mr. Snape." He waited until the wizard looked at him again before continuing. "Would you mind, if I took a two or three books with me? I still haven't finished them."

"Only if they aren't from the right shelf...What is that?" He walked closer upon noticing the strange golden ring hanging from his neck..

The boy stiffened. He had forgotten to hide the ring beneath his clothes. "Uhh, my father gave it to me." Ryou explained. "He bought it from a merchant in Egypt." He could already feel the spirit getting angrier for this mess up. _Now I'll have to clean this up._

_ Please don't hurt him_. Ryou begged.

Snape held out a hand. "May I see it?"

Ryou looked at the hand, then the questioning dark eyes, and down at the ring. Hesitantly, he slipped it off and slowly gave it to the potions professor, praying that he wouldn't find anything wrong with it. He held his breath as Snape turned it over in his hands and inspected the Egyptian eye in the center. The complete silence reigned, both outside and inside Ryou's mind until there was the _clank_ of the ring being placed on the table before him. "I expect you to be down in the kitchen by seven." Finally, Snape turned around and left the room.

Ryou waited until the footsteps had disappeared to sigh. _Be thankful I can hide the ring's power as well_. Bakura growled. _Now go back and hide the book with the other three_ without _messing things up_. The host nodded inwardly, grabbed the books he wasn't finished with, and half ran back into his room. He looked for his bag and dumped them inside before reaching into his clothes to retrieve the other one. He glanced at the leather cover, tracing his fingers over the title, _Death and Rebirth_. "Rebirth..." Brown eyes widen as he began flipping through the old pages. One particular section caught his attention. "Vessels and Hosts." He read. "Unlike ghosts, spirits that are brought back need a body or object to inhabit in order to stay in this world." _So this is what Bakura wants. Another vessel._

Said spirit laughed._ What a smart little landlord I have. I do want my own body, immortal and powerful, instead of this pathetic weak one. And you'll help me make one_. Ryou shut the book, wanting to get rid of this book. _You know what I am capable of Yadonushi. Do you want a repeat of before? Where we're going, there will be innocent little children everywhere, interested in all kinds of games-_

_ I get it!_ Ryou covered his ears in an attempt to stop the voice. For once, Bakura stayed quiet. Ryou bent down to retrieve the book that had fallen to the floor. Sobbing quietly to himself, he put it beneath the rest of the books. "I'm sorry, Yugi, everyone. I'm so sorry..." Letting his body drop onto the bed, he silently prayed that this would all stop, before Bakura got that body and became even more dangerous. But right now, to keep the younger wizards safe from having their souls taken into the shadow realm, he had to betray his old friends and help the spirit.

~/~/~/~/~

The next morning was all a blur to Ryou. He was a bit tired from the previous night and he had to run around gathering his things and trying not to forget anything. He was also expected to help Snape organize and pack jars of herbs and dead animal parts. By nine, he was exhausted even though Snape had used some magic to do most of the work

They would be leaving through Apparition. Snape had explained it very briefly, and it was basically teleportation in Ryou's mind. Everything they would take with them had to be brought out in the small front yard. Ryou was lent a rather large trunk. He was able to fit everything inside and still have half of it empty. He had contemplated whether or not to hide the ring in there too, but Bakura told him to keep it under his clothing.

Because there were quite a number of objects needing transportation, Snape made two trips on his own to take his things. The first time was unannounced, so Ryou nearly died of shock when the professor suddenly disappeared with a feint popping sound next to him. Three minutes later, Snape returned to find a startled pale boy still clutching his chest.

Then, it was Ryou's turn. While Snape held on to one end of the half-filled trunk, Ryou grabbed on to the other. "Do not let go." He ordered.

Nodding, Ryou gripped on tighter. He wasn't sure of what would happen if he accidentally let go, but he could tell that it wouldn't be good. No one warned him about the unlikable feeling of being pressed from all angles and barely being able to breathe. It only lasted a second, but that second was long enough to make him stumble once they appeared at their destination.

"Is that the school?" Ryou stared at the enormous and castle-like structure off in the distance. Most of it was hidden behind trees, but he could tell that it was huge. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a carriage standing next to the train track they had appeared on. It was the flapping noise, though, that made Ryou turn to look at it. There were two strange horse skeletons with large bat-like wings tied to it. They looked frightening at first glance. The second glance though showed that they were domestic creatures. _They looks sort-of like monster cards_. He thought to himself.

As he watched them in curiosity, Snape had stored the trunk into the carriage and climbed aboard, making sure to be loud in his climb to alert Ryou.

Once they were both seated on opposite side, Ryou asked, "What's pulling the carriage?"

Thinking that Ryou wasn't able to see the threastles, he answered him with an uninterested, "who knows."

Ryou looked out the window to catch another look at the weird, dark horses._ I guess they can't be that dangerous if Mr. Snape hardly cares about them_. The ride was bumpy but short. At the entrance, they met McGonagall who was waiting for them. "Good." She said once they were standing at the large doors. "You both made it on time."

"Hello Miss McGonagall."

"Good morning, Mr. Bakura." The doors behind her opened on their own and all three walked inside. "Since you're now here, you'll have to address us as 'Professor'."

"Yes m'am." Ryou said with a smile which was replaced by a gaping expression upon seeing the main room. There were four long tables taking most of the room, and a few chairs set out at the front. But it wasn't the set up that was amazing, it was the ceiling. _Is there even a ceiling?_

"The ceiling is enchanted, to look like the outside. That way, we won't have to worry about the rain pouring down at us." Ryou turned to see Dumbledore walking towards them with his kind look. "It's good to see you here Severus."

"The pleasure is mine." Snape returned the gesture stiffly.

"And Ryou Bakura. Here to join us for the year?"

"Yes, um, headmaster Dumbledore...?" He wasn't sure how to call him now since he wasn't really a professor here.

"Good, good. Now, before we get you set up with a room, you need to be sorted." From the large sleeve of his bright colored robe, Dumbledore pulled out a wrinkled black pointed hat. "It's unfortunate that none of the other children are here to see, so the professors will have to do." He ushered the confused boy to a stool to sit on. " Ah, here come the rest of them."

Ryou looked to the other side of the room. Three other people were walking in. The most noticeable one was a giant of a man that easily towered over them all. Next to him was a wiry woman with large glasses who appeared even thinner by being right by the larger one. Slightly behind them was a middle-aged man who was incredibly pale. He was also slightly transparent, a fact Ryou believed he was imagining and so refused to look at him too closely.

"Excuse me, headmaster Dumbledore, but what exactly am I going to be sorted into?" Ryou wiggled nervously on the stool.

"Into one of the four houses here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore began to explain. "All students are sorted based on which of the founders they resemble the most. There is Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and, Syltherin. Those in the same house will be your family here as you will have classes and will help each other win house points." He then turned to the rest of those present. "Gather around, we are about to sort the first child for this year."

With a shy and wary grin, Ryou sat still as the hat was placed on his head, covering his eyes completely. "Well, well." Said a small voice next to his ear. The boy flinched, but sat still. "Hmm, a clever mind you have there; able to cram quite a bit in only a month. You'll make a great Ravenclaw. But... you aren't the only one there, are you?"

_Who are you?_ Bakura asked cautiously. He had come too far to be discovered now.

"I am the sorting hat. And I see you have a devious mind, a Slytherin's mind."

_He only wants to sort us into the right house._ Ryou told the spirit.

_Then hurry it up and get it the fuck out of here_.

The host quickly apologized. _P-please forgive him for that._

"I've heard worse." The hat dismissed it easily. "But which house, Ravenclaw or Slytherin? I'll have to go with the more dominant one and place you in SLYTHERIN!"

Ryou took off the hat, happy to have that over with. He handed it back to the headmaster as McGonagall spoke. "I didn't expect you to be in Slytherin."

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

No one really answered, so Dumbledore stepped in. "You seemed to follow your father, a Ravenclaw (I looked up your parents, I hope you don't mind) but you might just be more like Elena Rosiet, a Slytherin."

"My mother?" Rosiet was her maiden name, before marrying his father and taking the name Bakura.

Dumbledore nodded. "Severus, would you take him to the common room."

"Of course."

Before leaving, Ryou bowed to everyone there then jogged off to walk besides the man. Snape walked quickly. "Watch where you're going. You don't want to get lost in the dungeons."

Ryou almost frowned. Trust Bakura to land him in the dungeons.

~/~/~/~/~

There was only one month left until school began, and Ryou was right back to cramming. However, he was now able to receive some help from the professors. Snape (who he learned was his head of house) was the same as always, but McGonagall worked him to the bone. Now that he could use a wand, he could try out all of the spells he had memorized. Hardly any of them worked on the first try and was eventually able to do half of them. Still, both McGonagall and Flitwick (who arrived later that week) were impressed by how much he had actually committed to memory. He also found out that he had better results when using the white tip in charms, and the other side on transfiguration.

Binns, the History of Magic teacher, was more than glad to have someone to teach. Ryou quickly found the monotonous voice to be a little boring. After the small surprise of finding out he was a ghost as well as a few other inhabitants (meeting Peeves was, so far, the worst) he was able to concentrate more on the subject. Sprout turned out to be a pleasant woman who was patient and let Ryou take his time in catching up.

There were also a few lessons of Care of Magical Creatures and Divination although he wouldn't officially have those classes until he was completely caught up with the others. Hagrid and Trelawney were the other two teachers at his sorting ceremony. Ryou got over the giant's size and looked forward to hearing him talk about all of the strange animals he never knew existed. Sometimes, they would even have tea at Hagrid's home during the lesson. Trelawney was another story. Ryou was quickly absorbed into the subject although the professor made him squirm with her constant visions of death and unpleasing events. And seeing as they both stood closer to the shadows, their first teacup reading was hectic; there was nothing but skulls, dogs and bones which had them depressed for the rest of the day.

He didn't see much of Dumbledore as he was always busy doing one thing or another. Especially when a tragic event occurred during one of their famous sports tournaments. It had all of the professors talking quietly to each other. Ryou tried asking what was going on but was told not to worry about it, so he dropped it.

Three weeks into August, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts arrived. That fake, glass eye creeped Ryou to no end. He felt like he was always being watched with that eye. He was only able to have three real lesson with him and they were tough. When asked if he had ever been hit with a spell, Ryou made the mistake of answering "once or twice" and spent the rest of the time being hit by various as a demonstration. It wasn't the best experience.

Eventually, the first of September arrived.

After breakfast (Ryou loved meals since they were delicious and almost always had cream puffs included) Ryou had to clean the room he was staying at and made sure to hide anything that had to be hidden. He then spent some time independent reading and self exploring, mostly to stay out of everyone's way as they got ready for that evening.

"Since you are already here," McGonagall said later on, "you can take your seat and wait for everyone else." Ryou did so, picking a spot at the beginning of the long row beneath the green flags. He waited there as the teachers took their seats on the high chairs, anxious to know how these wizard children acted. Would they be just as old-style as the professors, or more like himself, as in regular teenagers?

He heard the loud voices and the thundering sound of multiple footsteps hitting the stone steps outside. There was a pause as everyone gathered on the other side, then the doors opened and the first students walked in.

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_**A/N: I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish this chapter, just for all of you that are reading it :). I don't really think that this is one of my best chapters, but the next one will hopefully be better =3**_


	6. The Sixth

_**A/N: I added the sorting hat's song here, but to keep it from taking up so much space it's in one big paragraph with each stanza separated by a /. Feel free to skip it if you want. Also: "Uso" = "a lie" or something close; kinda like 'no way' (which is masaka BTW)**_

_**Disclaimer: Because Santa didn't give me Ryou for Christmas, I still don't own YGO, or HP for that matter (or the hat's song because I took that from the book)**_

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The large crowd of students all streamed in and went off to their tables. Many of them paused to give curious glances at the white-haired boy already there. The first few Slytherins sat away from him and whispered amongst themselves. Eventually, seats were running out and a single boy chose to sit across from him. "I haven't seen you around here." He was tall and thin with dirty brown hair.

"I was just admitted here, as a fourth year." Ryou responded shyly. Unsure of what to do next, he held out his hand. "Ryou Bakura."

"Theodore Nott." He shook the newcomer's hand. "So, why weren't you here for the first three years?"

Before Ryou had a chance to respond, more people sat around them and almost knocked him off his seat. Theodore shrugged as if apologizing then turned to look at the teachers. "Hmm, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is missing."

Sure enough, Moody's chair was vacant when all were being occupied (except for McGonagall and Hagrid who were bringing in the new students). "Maybe he got distracted with something."

"Oh, you've met him?"

"Yes. Professor Moody, I think it was." Ryou shivered at the memory of being waved around in the air for some first-hand experience with magic, as Moody had claimed it was.

Theodore let out a laugh. "That crazy man?" A few people had turned their ears towards them. "Letting 'Mad Eye' Moody take charge of a class should be interesting. And you didn't answer my question from before, about coming here late."

Ryou gave him a thin smile. "I was missed on the school's list. I didn't even know I was a wizard until last summer."

The other opened his mouth to ask something else, but had to save it for later. McGonagall had just brought out the stool and the dusty old hat to begin the Sorting. The hat twitched a bit and did what Ryou wasn't expecting; it sang.

A thousand years or more ago / When I was newly sewn / There lived four wizards of renown / Whose names are still well known / Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor / Fair Ravenclaw, from glen / Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad / Shrewd Slytherin, from fen / They shared a wish, a hope, a dream / They hatched a daring plan / To educate young sorcerers / Thus Hogwarts School began / Now each of these four founders / Founded their own House, for each / Did value different virtues / In the ones they had to teach / By Gryffindor, the bravest were / prized beyond the rest / For Ravenclaw, the cleverest / Would always be the best / For Hufflepuff, hard workers were / Most worthy of admission / And power-hungry Slytherin / Loved those of great ambition / While still alive they did divide / Their favorites form the throng / Yet how to pick the worthy ones / When they were dead and gone? / 'Twas Gryffindor who found the way / He whipped me off his head / The founders put some brains in me / So I could choose instead! / Now slip me smug about your ears / I've never yet been wrong / I'll have a look inside your mind/And tell where you belong!

Ryou clapped along with everyone else. _Slytherins are power-hungry? That's why Bakura belonged here. Maybe I would have been better in Ravenclaw._ He looked up at Theodore. _But he doesn't seem too bad_. He watched silently as names were being called off from a list and every new student tried on the hat like Ryou had done. It was fun to watch and celebrate with this new 'family' when a new Slytherin was announced.

At the end, Dumbledore stood to let the feasting begin. Ryou's eyes widened at the amount of food that appeared. There was so much! When it was just him, only one or two entries appeared. This time, though, multiple foods to pick from were there. He eagerly filled his plate and took a bite of the ever delicious food. He was interrupted by one of Theodore's questions. "Weren't your parents wizards?"

Ryou chewed his food and swallowed before answering. "They came to Hogwarts together. But they gave up magic a while later."

"What did you say your name was?" Came a third voice.

Both boys turned to the pale, blond boy sitting two seats away. "Ryou Bakura..." For some reason, this person intimidated him by the way he held himself tall and proud and surrounded himself by two very large kids.

"Bakura, huh? My dad told me about a new kid coming here. He also told me that your dad was a coward for running away to live with muggles."

Ryou blushed and stared down at his plate. Was living with muggles really that bad? He was pretty sure that they could do impressive stuff without magic, like all of that holographic stuff Kaiba had created. And computers that sent instant messages that didn't take days to deliver.

"Oh, come on Malfoy." said Theodore. "Don't torment your own house-mates."

"I'm just saying." He looked closer at Ryou. "And what's with that hair? It makes you look like a girl."

Ryou's face turned even redder. This wasn't the first time he's heard that one, but he couldn't stop it from getting to him. He liked his hair the way it was.

When he didn't say anything, Malfoy went back to eating. "Just don't come out a coward too." He muttered.

No one said much else until Dumbledore stood once again to give a few announces. They were about forbidden objects, Hogsmade (Ryou had no idea of what that was, but planned to ask Snape about it since it sounded like fun), staying out of the forbidden forest, and Quidditch being canceled. That last one got the most negative reaction out of the students as a whole. Ryou had learned that it was played on broomsticks and had been looking forward to it.

That's when the headmaster explained about the Triwizard Tournament. "Two other schools will be joining us in October to compete for the honor of winning the Triwizard Cup as well as a thousand Galleons. One champion from each school, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Drumstrang, will be picked to face the dangerous tasks. And because of the high death toll in the past, there will be an age limit; only wizards above sixteen may enter. That is all for tonight."

The doors that led to the hallway opened and all students walked out, talking excitedly about the tournament. Ryou didn't like sleeping in the dungeon-like rooms, under the lake no less! He got used to it eventually and could maneuver his way through them without getting lost. He was the first one in the room and sat down on the bed. There were three other beds there, meaning that he would now have to share. Sure enough, there were already trunks laid next to them. He was in the middle of changing when his door opened.

It was the boy from before, followed by three others. Ryou ignored them and finished changing into his pajamas. "Looks like my bed was taken." One of them said. He felt four pairs of eyes on his back, so he turned to face them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they were already taken."

"It's fine." The boy who spoke stepped forward. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Blaise Zabini." He held out his hand, which Ryou shook.

"Ryou Bakura."

Zabini nodded his acknowledgment and stepped back so that the others could introduced themselves as well.

"I am Draco Malfoy. And this is Vincent Crabbe," he pointed at one boy, "and Gregory Goyle." None of them offered any handshakes.

Knowing there was going to be an awkward silent to come, Zabini headed out. "See you all in the morning." He said as he left.

Ryou went back to fixing his bed and closing the curtains around his bed, that was all of the privacy he was going to get from now on. To be friendlier, he called out a "Goodnight" once the lights went out.

"Goodnight." The three boys said back, although one came out to sound more annoyed than anything. Still, it was better than nothing.

~/~/~/~/~

Ryou awoke with one big smile on his face. He sat up, yawned, and stretched his hands up high. It was his birthday that day, making him officially fourteen years old. He jumped out of bed and changed quickly to avoid the cold morning air. He was the first to get up, giving him the bathroom all to himself. After brushing his teeth and hair, more students entered the bathroom with sluggish steps and sleepy eyes.

Because he didn't know what classes he was going to have yet, he laid out all of his book next to his bag to grab them fast and easily. He did, however, decide to carry his wand. As he walked out, he met up with Theodore again. "'Morning." Ryou greeted.

"Good morning, Bakura." The bright smile was all too noticeable to him. "Are you that excited for classes today?"

"I guess." There was really no reason for Ryou to go on announcing it was his birthday. It wasn't as if any of them really cared and probably had other things on their mind.

_Snip snip._

Ryou paled at the dreadful sound that had tormented him the month he was there.

_Snip snip_. "It's time for your haircut!" Peeves swooped down at him with a pair of large scissors in his hands. Both boys ducked right on time to avoid being accidentally stabbed. The ghost let out a high pitched laugh as he floated over them.

"Sorry." Ryou apologized to the other Slytherin then covered his head as best as he could and took off running with Peeves right behind.

There was no losing the ghost in the close to empty hallways and there were no teachers around to save him this time around. "Leave me alone!" He cried. But this only engaged Peeves more into his game. "I'll call the Bloody Baron if you don't stop!"

They both knew it was an empty threat; Ryou was just as scared as Peeves and wouldn't even dare to go up to him.

"But you're hair's too long. You'll get mistaken for a girl."

"I don't care!" He was almost at the Great Hall. If he made it, then he'd be saved. However, as he turned the last corned, he bumped into someone's back and sent them both to the ground.

"Harry!" A girl cried out.

Peeves appeared above them, opening and closing the scissors with a sadistic grin. "Got you."

"Get out of here Peeves." The girl told him.

He only crossed his arms. "Or what?"

"I'll tell the headmaster, or maybe even the Bloody Baron." This time, the ghost frowned and stuck out his tongue before flying away again to scare the first years.

Ryou, meanwhile, rolled off the unfortunate victim and rubbed his nose. "Arigato..."

"What?"

"Thank you."

"Blimey, you came out of nowhere." Exclaimed the redhead standing next to them. He helped the fallen dark-haired boy while the girl helped Ryou.

"Forgive me for that." Ryou bowed to them, unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair to make sure it was all there.

"You don't have to do that." The boy that was addressed as Harry chuckled at being bowed at. "I'm ok, really."

"Bakura." Said boy turned to Snape who was also making his way to breakfast. "I want to see you in my office before classes."

"Yes sir." Said Ryou. He looked back and forth between Snape and Harry, who seemed to be...glaring at each other? He couldn't really tell with Snape, but there was some loathing in Harry's eyes.

"Don't forget." The professor told Ryou before turning on his heel and disappearing into the Great Hall.

"Great. We get to see Snape first thing in the morning." The readhead groaned.

"I should get going. Thanks again for saving me." With a small wave, Ryou entered the hall and took the same seat as the night before. If he wanted to make it to Snape's office without being late, he would have to eat fast.

He was chewing on his first bite when he was joined by Theodore. "If you chew any faster, you'll choke." He told him as he took his seat.

Ryou grinned. "I have to see Professor Snape before my first class."

"You have time. We haven't even gotten our schedules or the mail." As he spoke his last word, there was a great flapping sound. Soon, hundreds of owls flew in dropping parcels, letters, and other objects on the students. "And here's one of them." He held out a hand to catch a small box brought in by a brown owl.

"Does this happen every morning?" Ryou stared at the giant cloud of owls that, miraculously, didn't fly right into each other.

"Pretty much."

Talking to him was easy for Ryou mainly because his personality wasn't so large. Theodore was more easy going and didn't force or push his opinions on him. He also seemed to be alone since Ryou had yet to see him in a group of friends.

As soon as the schedules were passed out, Ryou stood, excused himself, and walked straight to the potion teacher's room. He went past the classroom and knocked on the side door. He waited for the teacher to allow him passage before opening the door and stepping in. He paused before the desk and waited for him to look up from parchment he was writing on.

A minute later, Snape paused and pointed his quill at a medium-sized cardboard box lying besides his desk. "Your father sent that to you. You may leave now."

Puzzled, Ryou bent down to inspect the box and saw the card lying on top of it. He picked it up and opened the stiff papyrus cover. He hadn't seen his father's writing in a while, but he instantly recognized it.

_ Happy Birthday Ryou._

_ Please forgive me for neglecting you for so long and hardly sending you anything for your past few birthdays. I can't change them, but I can at least make this one a little better. I am aware that you don't have a pet yet so I bought this one here in Egypt. They are said to protect their owner from evil and will have to do that in my place for now. – Aldan Bakura_

Tears threatened to pour out by the time he finished reading. His father hadn't forgotten his birthday, and he even got him a gift. He sniffed loudly as he put the card away safely into his robe. Picking up the box gently, he thanked Snape on his way out and carried it up to his bed. There was a lot of scratching coming from the inside; whatever was in there was eager to come out.

Slowly, he removed the top and smiled in pure delight. Inside was a small, grace-full looking cat with large ears and tail. Black spots covered its bronze fur except for a single white paw. It was a purebred, Egyptian cat and a boy too. In one delicate move, the cat jumped out of his box and moved around the bed. He climbed onto the pillows and curled up for a nap. Ryou scratched his head, enjoying the sound of his relaxed purr.

Regretfully, he pulled his hand away to grab his bag and books. "I'll have to find a name for you later. Stay here, ok?" The cat meowed once before closing his eyes and falling asleep. With quiet movements, Ryou put the box down and walked out happier than ever. His job that day would be to find the perfect name.

Reaching into his bag for his schedule, he read the classes he would have. He started off with History with Ravenclaw, then a blank slot. McGonagall had explained that if there ever was one, it meant that the teachers already had another, more advanced year's class, then he'd join his classmates in whatever they had, which was Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor for that day. After lunch, he had History again but alone with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw third years, then Potions with Hufflepuff to end the day. All in all, it didn't sound too difficult.

History turned out to be the same as it was during the summer, just with more people learning along with him. Professor Binns came in through the board and began speaking while the rest of them took notes. He sat next to Theodore, but they didn't speak much, preferring to write and doing their work.

When class ended with a short assignment to be handed in next time they had History, both boys walked together outside to Hagrid's class. The Gryffindors were already there and didn't appear to be too happy at seeing them. _I wonder if something happened? _

Hagrid ushered them to hurry up. "'Ello Ryou. Wasn' expectin' you ta show up."

"Good morning, Professor Hagrid." He greeted joyfully, not noticing the shocked expression on almost everyone's face. "I had a blank slot today."

"That's great! 'Cause today, ya get to see what was in those eggs I was lookin' after."

"Hey, you're the kid from this morning!" Ryou turned to look at the familiar redhead pointing an accusing finger at him. Next to him were the girl and Harry. "And you're a Slytherin."

The girl with bushy brown hair slapped his hand down. "Knock it off Ron. It's rude to point, you know."

"Ah, right." Said Hagrid. "Not everybody 'ere know 'im. Well, this 'ere is Ryou Bakura, new studen' ta 'Ogwarts. So treat 'im nicely. Now on with the lesson." The professor turned to the crates standing behind him.

While he talked about the Blast-ended Skrewts, Ryou found himself standing by the trio. "Thanks again for this morning." He said politely.

"No problem." Even though Harry was being kind, Ryou could tell that there was something different.

Shrugging it off, Ryou went back to listening to Hagrid on how to feed the horrid looking creatures. He cringed while sticking his hand into a crate to drop in frog intestines and yelped when one almost blasted his finger. _I am not getting close to them again. I can't believe these things were in those tiny eggs_.

As he watched others attempt to feed them, Malfoy and his two followers approached him. "You seemed pretty...acquainted with those Gryffindors."

"They helped me get away from Peeves this morning."

Malfoy frowned. "Yes, well, as a Slytherin you shouldn't be talking too much with them, much less thanking them."

Ryou looked confused. "Why?"

"Because Slytherins and Gryffindors don't associate with each other. Understand?"

"O-ok." He watched them walk off to make sarcastic remarks about the Blast-ended Skrewts. Now that Ryou looked closer, none of the houses wanted much to do with each other as they stood separately. Was there a feud going on? Probably. He'll have to be a little careful from now on.

At lunch, Ryou ate quickly and snuck some food out to give to his cat. During that break, he pondered over possible names as he petted him. His search was unsuccessful.

During History that afternoon, he sat on the edge of the room since he felt out of place without those in his house (not that he liked them too much, but at least he knew some of their names). As expected, he received glances which he payed little attention to and so was left alone.

He was able to join the Slytherins again for potions after that. That class was mostly a prep for the potion they would be making then next time and spent the majority of the time taking notes about the ingredients necessary. During that class, he noted that Hufflepuff and Slytherin weren't on good terms either. _Was I put into the bad house? Since I was sorted based on Bakura's mind, then this wouldn't be good. But my mom was in here too, and she was the nicest person I knew. _

A nudge from Theodore to the ribs brought him out of his thoughts. "Snape's talking to you." He whispered.

Ryou turned his attention to the teach who was in fact, waiting for an answer. He then looked down at his desk in shame. "I'm sorry professor, I wasn't paying attention."

"I asked, if you knew what snake poison is mainly used for."

The boy thought back to what he had read on snakes in potion books. "Eto...nightmare-induced sleeping potions or, if used with the right herbs, medicine to help cure rashes." (A/N: ok, I completely made that up)

"Five points for Slytherin." Was all the acknowledgment Snape gave before resuming his lesson. Ryou sighed in relief, there was no time for daydreaming in this class.

"You're good at potions?" Theodore asked quietly while Snape was turned around.

"Kind-of. It's my favorite subject." He said meekly.

The other smiled slyly. "Well, I am. And it looks like I got some competition."

"Maybe..." He wouldn't call himself competition if he just barely found out about it a few months ago. And this kid looked like he had years of experience. Still, it was nice that they were able to talk like friends. Ryou grinned inwardly. He had his first friend here, one that didn't look at him with suspicion nor pity. And because no one here knew about his past or the spirit, there was a chance that he'd be able to make more friends later on.

Finally being done with classes, Ryou now had to work on his homework, which wasn't much considering it was only the first day of lessons. He and Theodore worked together on the small potions essay and were able to finish in about an hour. With that out of the way, Ryou wanted to play with his unnamed cat, but Bakura had other plans.

_Go and search for a place to work on my new body._

That is how Ryou found himself 'exploring' more of the castle at around six. _But what if I get caught?_

_That won't happen if you find a good place, right?_ There was a small threatening tone in there.

With no set destination, Ryou ended up close to the astronomy tower. There's nothing up there but the classroom. He kept on moving through the hallway and came across an unfamiliar door. He has passed by it before but never cared enough to see what was in there. The door itself was old and moldy, forgotten unlike the rest of them. _Don't pick such an obvious place_. Bakura said. _Not everyone is as dense as you are_.

_Just a quick look then. There might be a secret room hidden inside_. Despite only having the spirit to converse with at the moment, Ryou was a little excited at the idea. Something Bakura didn't like.

_Either do as I tell you, or I'll stuff you in the darkest corner of you mind_.

Ryou flinched at the anger; it was no joke. He was already inside the unused room and was turning to leave when something in the corner caught his eye. A dark figure had moved slightly. Scared that he was going to get caught, he rushed out just as he saw the figure move as well. Once the door was shut again, he paused. Something was out of place. He went back in and stared at the same corner where the figure stood. He waved a hand, the figure waved a hand. Ryou let out a deep breath. It must be a mirror.

As he walked up to it, his thought was proven true. There was an enormous mirror with writing at the top. Ryou squinted at it and read out loud. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? I wonder what that means." He stood before it and gasped. "U-uso..." He stumbled a step and almost tripped. Large brown eyes were glued to the impossible image he saw. It was the back of his living room over in Japan, as if he truly was standing before a mirror in his apartment. It wasn't that though, that shocked him the most, it was the people standing behind him. There was Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu, on one side all holding a beautiful blue cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Ryou!' inscribed on it. They had eager looks on their smiling faces as if waiting for Ryou to make a wish and blow out the fourteen lit candles. On the other side was his father, also smiling and holding up the nameless Egyptian cat who had a little bow on its neck. Holding on to his arm was his beautiful mother and little sister Amane. She was giggling and mouthing 'make a wish, make a wish' over and over. Even the Pharaoh was there, standing behind Yugi and waving at him.

_What is it?_ Bakura demanded, unable to see what Ryou was seeing.

"I-it's Yugi and my fa-family...a-and the Pharaoh. H-he's there too!" He didn't know why he was stuttering, or talking out loud for that matter.

_What?_ In an instant, he was pulled back from control as Bakura took over. He was still allowed to see through his eyes, mainly because the spirit wanted him to listen to him. _Liar. The Pharaoh's not even-_ He cut himself off as he gazed into his reflection. Ryou saw nothing but his own sharpened body; slightly taller and with spikier hair. And his eyes...there was disbelieving shock. It quickly disappeared and was replaced by pure hate and resentment.

Next thing Ryou knew, he was being shoved back into his body, making him dizzy. He straightened himself and looked back into the mirror. It was the same, happy sight as before. In his mind, he felt alone, meaning that Bakura was no longer watching. _He saw something different, but what?_ Then again, why should he care? The spirit has caused him nothing but misery and distrust. Ryou took a seat in front of the mirror. The image he saw wasn't real, and would never happen, but he didn't care right now. He finally had some peace to let him mind wander.

Hours passed, and Ryou stayed in that one spot, staring longingly at the mirror. He wanted to burn it into his memory before he had to leave. His focus was so strong, that he didn't even hear the door opening nor the old wise man walking towards him. "So this is where you were."

Ryou whirled around to face Dumbledore. "Headmaster." He was in a lot of trouble now. He had stayed there too long, it was probably around midnight. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"Do not worry too much about it, but I'm not suggesting you sneak out after hours. Every child needs their rest, to be able to learn at their best." The old wizard chuckled at his own rhyme then gazed past him to the mirror. "I see you've found the Mirror of Erised. Tell me, have you figured out what it does?"

In a soft voice, Ryou spoke. "It shows, what we really want, real or not."

"Close." Dumbledore nodded. "It shows us our heart's truest desire and nothing but. Neither knowledge nor lie. Some have wasted away before it, others have gone mad; it isn't healthy to live for the mirror and ignore all reality."

"I understand, sir." Ryou faced the floor before bringing his head back up. "Can I stay here, just a while longer? And I promise not to come back again."

Dumbledore pondered the request. "Yes. I'll wait outside to escort you to your dormitory; it's late and I don't want you getting in trouble."

"Thank you, headmaster Dumbledore." He watched him stride out.

Before the door closed completely, it was reopened and he stuck his head back in. "I almost forgot, happy birthday."

Ryou smiled kindly. Once he was alone again, he turned back to the mirror and looked in it for a few more minutes. "Goodbye, everyone," he whispered then turned and left the room.

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_**A/N: Ok, I apologize for asking but, I need help with finding a name for Ryou's new kitty. I want something with meaning and Egyptian if possible. Arigato =3**_

_**Also, it might take a while for the next update since I still need to update my other fanfic and school's going to start up again XP**_


	7. The Seventh

_**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful names they are all great, but I could only pick one. But know that if the little kitty impregnates a cat, those kitties will each have one of your suggested names (nope, that didn't sound weird at all) And I want to thank DemonKittyAngel (my one and only beta ^.^) for helping make this chapter a lot better.**_

_**Disclaimer: I own the plot, Ryou's kitty and...well, that's about it**_

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Ryou kept his word and didn't return to the room with the mirror, and it wasn't until days later that he figured out that Erised was desire spelled backwards. He wondered if the rest of the inscription above the mirror was also like that, but he couldn't remember what it said at all. Bakura, on the other hand, might as well have disappeared. He didn't say a word nor made himself present. Ryou knew better than to believe that he was free of him. Still, it wasn't like the spirit at all.

What was giving him trouble instead was his cat. He just couldn't find the right name no matter what he thought of. At the moment, he was known as Neko-san, which was dangerous because he might actually think of it as his real name. Ryou needed help, so he chose to talk to the animal expert, Hagrid.

When he had an afternoon off that week, he made his way to the small hut with Neko-san walking behind him. "Come on, Neko-san. You don't want to get lost in this huge place." Obviously, the Egyptian cat had no idea of what he was saying, but he was smart enough to follow his owner obediently through the grass outside.

At the door, Ryou remembered the big dog Hagrid kept and bent down to scoop up his cat. He only had to knock once before it was answered. "Ah, Ryou!" The large man smiled. "Wha' can I do for ya?"

Ryou lifted his cat for the man to see. "My father gave him to me, and I need help coming up with a name."

Hagrid petted him lightly. "I'm not too fond a cats, but 'e is a gorgeous one." He pushed the door wide opened. "Come in. I lef' Fang out, so 'ere's nothing ta worry 'bout." Ryou stepped in and took a seat on one of the old wooden chairs, propping his cat on his lap. Hagrid went around to the other chair. "So, ya lookin' for a name?"

Ryou nodded his head. "I've tried English and Japanese names, but none of them seem to fit." Both of them looked at the cat as he jumped onto the table to lick himself. After a second, he looked to Ryou for a scratch on his head.

"Well, 'ee sure acts like a prince." Hagrid commented.

The scratching hand paused. "Prince?" Brown eyes lit up. "There was this word for 'prince', but what was it?"

"Wha'? In Japanese?" Asked Hagrid. He knew Ryou spoke that language; he would sometimes let out a stray word or phrase if he wasn't paying much attention to it.

"No. It's from Egypt..." His brows furrowed in concentration. "Cairoshell!" At the last word, he jumped out of his seat, nearly knocking it back. "Thanks Hagrid."

"Sure..." Hagrid was a bit disappointed at not being able to make any suggestions, and he had really good ones too. And he felt like he had hardly helped at all. But at least Ryou was happy. "Why don' ya stay 'ere a while? Some o' my other students are comin' ta visit." He gave a big, goofy grin at the thought.

"Ok." _I did come all this way after all._ Ryou thought to himself. He wondered who the students were and hoped they didn't know him, or at least, didn't know he was a Slytherin. There were already enough stares from the Hufflepuffs and Gryfindors and awkward silences when he talked to anyone. Even his own house acted stiff around him.

While waiting, Hagrid brought out an album of previous pets and amazing creatures he had met. The moving pictures made it seem so real and entrancing. Close to the end, Ryou asked where he could buy one of those cameras. When Hagrid answered "Hogsmade" he then had to go through the whole explanation of what it was and what shops were there. Ryou was excited about the idea of a magical town.

A knock on the door cut him short. Hagrid went to answer it and returned with three students trailing behind. "What are you doing here?" A redhead exclaimed upon seeing Ryou smiling at them.

"I came for a visit." Ryou answered. Seeing the boy frown, he quickly picked up the newly named Cairoshell and stood. "But I'll be leaving now."

"Nonsense." The professor clasped a large hand on Ryou shoulder, telling him to sit back down. "I finally got 'em apple biscuits ya took a likin' to." He began rummaging through his cabinets to search for those delicious treats.

"Hello again." Harry said as he went over to a corner to get a crate to use as a seat. Before sitting, he held out a hand. "My name's Harry Potter." Ryou shook it lightly. "And this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley." The girl waved from behind him while the redhead mouthed a short 'Hi'.

"I'm Ryou Bakura..." He could feel the awkwardness in the room. Seeing Hermione without a seat, he got out of his chair. "You can take this seat."

"Oh, no, I'm fine." She tried waving it away, but Ryou had already moved to a chest beneath the tiny window. "So, Bakura." Hermione started, "you're a friend of Hagrid's?"

"Mm-hm. I met him during the summer, along with most of the other teachers."

"So you've never been here before?" Harry questioned.

Ryou shook his head. "No. This is my first year, really. I have never even heard of wizards existing before."

Ron gasped in the background. "A Slytherin not knowing about magic?" He shook his head. "Next, you'll say you were raised by muggles."

"Well, my parents gave up magic, so I guess I was sort of raised by muggles." At everyone's probing looks, Ryou began to explain. "Before I was born, things were a bit dangerous for the wizardry world. I don't know the proper details, but many were dying. So my mother and father decided to give up magic and live like muggles to raise my sister and I safely. They never told us about magic and wizards until I eventually found out. Then Dumbledore invited me to Hogwarts and let me in early to catch up."

"So you were raised _like_ a muggle." Ron clarified.

"Muggles aren't that bad." Ryou quickly defended them. "They have all of this amazing stuff that magic can't do."

"No one said nothin' 'bout muggles." Hagrid had returned with the jar of biscuits.

Ryou blushed slightly. "Sorry. It's just that not a lot of people here like muggles too much. Or Slytherins either."

"Yeah, and with good reasons too." Ron said, reaching for a biscuit but was elbowed by Hermione.

That perked Ryou's curiosity. "Why?"

"Well," Hermione said, "most of the bad wizards come from Slytherin. And they act so superior a lot of the time because of their 'pure blood'."

"Oh." Why did Ryou keep hearing bad things about his house? The perfect house for Bakura. _What if he comes out to be a bad wizard too?_ He paled at the thought. Not only would he have a large advantage over the Pharaoh, but with the shadow magic, he could easily hurt the wizards too. Ryou hugged Ciaroshell closer to him. _And here I am, helping the spirit_.

"Ryou? You ok?"

Said boy glanced up to see the worried look on Hermione. "Uh, yes. I'm alright. But I should get going now. Homework and all."

"Oh? What kind of homework?" Harry realized that Ryou didn't warm up to the 'evil Slytherin' ideas and tried changing the subject. And honestly, Harry couldn't picture this shy, even kind boy, taunting someone else along with Malfoy.

"Um, potions. Research a few ingredients at the library and find out what they do."

Harry grimaced at the mention of his least favorite subject. "I think I have to do that too. But even if[when] I read about it, my potions come out bad anyways."

A little nervous, Ryou smiled. "Well, if you ever need help...I mean, in class, if you need a partner we could..." Receiving no immediate response, he hastily waved the matter away. "You don't have to, since it could be weird being seen with a Slytherin."

Hermione stood up quickly. "We don't mind. In fact, it's Ron that should be taking up your offer. He's the one who needs the help." Ron shot her a glare, but said nothing.

Ryou nodded. "Ok. So, I'll see you all another time?" He added the last part uncertainly.

"Sure." Harry shrugged.

With Cairoshell in his arms, Ryou said his goodbye (with a few biscuits wrapped nicely for later) and decided to take a detour by the lake. It was a nice day for once with a bit of sunshine. He didn't get far though, before his path became blocked by an older male. Not thinking much of it, Ryou turned to the side to walk around him, but another boy appeared to block him. Now he knew something wasn't right. "You're that new student, aren't you?" The taller one said.

"Y-yes" Ryou knew exactly what was going on. _Even wizards schools have bullies. _"S-sorry, but I'm in a hurry."

"Hurry for what?" The other asked. "To play with your little Gryffindor friends?" He laughed. "Imagine a Gryffindor and a scared, weak little Slytherin being friends."

Ryou frowned. He backed away with the intent of running away before something bad could happened. Experience had taught him to leave at the first sight of trouble and it worked for most of the time. When it didn't, Ryou prayed that nothing permanent would be done to him.

A large hand clamped down on his head to keep him in place. The action surprised him so that he dropped Cairoshell. The cat landed on his feet and trotted off quickly. Ryou didn't get the chance to call him back since he felt the rope around his neck being fingered. "What's this?"

In a fast motion, one of the guys had slipped the ring from Ryou's neck and held it close to his face. Panicked, Ryou reached for it only to have it be pulled away. "Give it back!" Already, he was feeling a slight rustle inside him mind. Should the spirit choose to come out...

The taller held the ring over his head, enjoying the sight of the younger jumping up to try to get it. "What's the matter? Too short to reach it?" Grinning, he tossed it to his friend.

The boy turned it over in his hand. "What's it suppose to be anyway?" He bit down on it hard. "Hey, this might be real gold." He threw it back to the other once Ryou ran up to him.

_Yadonushi_. Bakura sneered in warning. Ryou froze, he needed to end this soon. But what could he do against to larger boys? Not thinking of a better plan, he closed his eyes, then rammed his body into the boy. He knew he was going to pay for that later, but at least Bakura wouldn't have to take anyone's soul.

His rough action succeeded in making the boy stumble a bit. However, he didn't fall and that action only caused him to get angrier. "You want this that bad, huh? Well," he grinned maliciously before winding his hand back to throw the ring, "why don't you go swim for it?"

Ryou watched in dread as the gold ring flew through the air. Just as it hit the water, he pulled out his wand to call it back. "Acci-" As he raised his wand, it was suddenly snatched from him, not letting him finish the spell.

"He told you to swim." The other boy said, holding the wand in a tight grip, threatening to break it.

_I'll just get rid of them myself._

_ Matte! I-I'll get it. _Ryou looked from the lake, to his wand, then back to the cold waters before shutting his eyes and jumping in. His teeth clenched as the icy touch that penetrated through his clothes and skin, but he refused to get out of the water without the ring. Slowly, he made long stokes to the spot where he saw it sink. Once he was in the general area, he dove down, forcing his eyes to open and search for a glitter of gold in the darkness.

Not seeing anything, he flailed around in a panic. He spun underwater twice, straining his eyes to see past the murky water, before thinking of looking directly below him. There it was, sinking deep to the point of disappearing from sight. Ryou kicked behind him a few times without making much progress. _I'm not moving!_ He tried kicking harder only to end up floating upside down and wasting his breath. _Come on, swim_. Ryou thought to himself.

His lungs were starting to protest from the lack of oxygen. Still, he continued to make his way to the ring; if he went for air now, he'd lose sight of it for sure and there was no telling what Bakura would do. He'd send those two boys to the shadow realm for sure, then maybe a few others just for the fun of it. _No, that won't happen. I'll get the ring and everything will be just fine._

After calming down, he focused on moving less and using his movements more efficiently. He ignored his burning lungs as he got closer and closer. He stretched out a hand, straining to grab onto the rope floating near his finger tips._ Just a little more_. With one last kick, he reached it and gripped to it tightly. Now that it was in his possession once more, the reality of his situation hit him.

There was no way he would be able to make it to the surface. Already, he was fighting the urge to open his mouth and suck in whatever there was. Fear seized him. _I'm going to drown here. _He blinked and stopped moving completely._ Drown in the cold and darkness. Just like I always knew I would..._ He held the ring tighter. Ever since Amane had died, ever since he had gotten the ring, Ryou was always alone. No one got close enough to get to know him better, and those that did would end up in a coma. He knew he was cursed long ago. Maybe it would be better if just let himself disappear into a shadow of a memory. No one would miss him anyways. His father had his work to distract him and his friends in Japan...they already had each other.

Ryou let his body relax and sink deeper. His back was to the surface so he could only stare at the endless abyss that awaited him. He was beyond help and hope. With that thought in mind, he opened his mouth to let the last bubbles of precious air out. _...I always knew I would die alone._

Suddenly, water began to rush past him, threatening to take the ring right from his hands. What was weird though, wasn't that his body was being swept along, but cutting through it. Almost as if he was being pulled out.

The moment his head broke the surface, his mouth automatically opened wider to take the biggest breath he could manage. His whole body continued to rise out of the lake until he was coughing and shivering three feet above it. His eyes itched in irritation for being opened in such unclean waters and they now gave the world a blurry look.

He hung limp in the air, trying his best not too struggle as he was slowly brought back to the dry grass. "Do you have a death wish?" A cool voice said to him.

Ryou looked up to see a thin figure with very light hair color. He had his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Two others stood behind him. "Malfoy?" He _saved me? _He looked around to find the two bullies out of sight.

Said boy huffed. "Who else? Now get your stupid cat, he wouldn't stop scratching and chewing on my new robe." Cairoshell chose that moment to step into view, sitting in front of Ryou. He meowed then proceeded to lick Ryou's hand dry. Cairoshell had sensed the danger and went looking for the only other people that were near him besides Ryou, the ones who slept in the same room.

"Here's your wand." Malfoy dropped the white-tipped stick on the grass then nudged at Goyle besides him as a signal to start leaving. All three turned to walk back to the castle.

"Wait." Ryou stumbled to his feet as Malfoy paused and looked back. "Um..." He bowed low. "Thank you. For saving me."

Malfoy faced him and smirked, enjoying the fact that someone was actually bowing to him. _I should get Crabbe and Goyle to do that too..._ "You're welcome. But here's some piece of advice: act more like a Slytherin, and _not_ like a Longbottom."

Ryou stayed on the lake's edge as he was left alone with Cairoshell. The cat had sat tall and straight at his feet. He looked up and gave a demanding meow, the kind he gave whenever he was hungry and expected to be fed right away. "You really do act like a prince, don't you." He sighed. "But thanks for getting someone; I owe you my life as well."

_Yes, you do_. Ryou flinched at the harsh words that hissed inside his mind._ If you die, then so do I. Right now, you life is worth more than anyone here and if I have to kill some of them to keep you alive, I won't hesitate to do so_.

_Hai...wakarimashita._ With his head bent down, Ryou made his way back to the castle with Cairoshell leading the way.

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_**A/N: I hope you liked this. And thanks to Aleksander-Nikolaevich-Her for the name Cairoshell :3**_


	8. The Eighth

**_A/N: There's quite a bit going on in this chapter. Enjoy :3 And thanks again to DemonKittyAngel for being the beta for this little fanfic of mine._**

**_Disclaimer: I own YGO and HP, which is why I live in a mansion and bathe in money every night. Heh heh, I wish._**

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"You know, you could have used your wand to dry yourself up."

Ryou mentally slapped himself at Nott's words. Why did he walk, soaking wet, all of the way to the dungeons when he could have used magic to get dry? He hung his head in embarrassment and shuffled his feet.

Theodore sighed. "Here. I'll take you to the baths and get you a towel. But really, who goes swimming at this time of year?"

Muttering a soft 'thank you', Ryou followed the other boy in through a side door in the common room that lead to the bathtubs. The large room was almost completely made out of stone. The rectangle shape was divided into smaller rooms by curtains that each held a tub three feet deep and big enough for a person to lie down in.

He waited patiently while Theodore walked over to a stone tub connected to the wall and filled it with water. Using his wand, he said a quick spell to warm it up and produce a bit of steam that rose in a cloud. "You can go ahead and get in. I'll go get that towel."

Once he was gone, Ryou removed his clothing and set it aside in a pile, leaving the ring on his neck, and sunk happily into the heated bliss. Cairoshell, meanwhile, hopped onto the edge of the tub. He dipped a paw into the water playfully before sitting himself down to watch his owner.

Ryou submerged his whole body save for the top half of his face and head. He leaned back against the tub that surprisingly didn't cut into his skin. _Must be magic._ He splashed a little to amuse Cairoshell, and then stilled at the voice inside his mind.

_We've wasted enough time_.

Ryou sunk in deeper. _No we haven't_.

_Yes we have! I gave you your freedom, now you do as I say_.

_Why don't you just do it yourself?_ Ryou flinched at his own angry thought. He had just unintentionally provoked the spirit who wouldn't think twice in ending a person's life. The boy shot up into a sitting position, scaring Cairoshell onto the floor. _I-I didn't mean that_.

_Of course you did_. Came the seething reply. It was low and threatening. _And maybe I will, because you, apparently, can't do a thing yourself_.

Theodore entered the room at the moment, letting his echoing footsteps announce his entrance. "I brought the towel." He went to the still opened curtain to lay the cloth close by and paused as he looked down at Ryou. "Hey, Bakura? Are you alright; you look pale."

_Yes Yadonushi. You do look a little pale._

Ryou snapped his head up and feigned a smile. "Yes. I'm fine. It must be the heat." He laughed nervously as he accepted the towel.

"If you say so. Well, I'll see you later." Theodore studied him once more before leaving once again to let Ryou bathe in peace.

Wasting no time, Ryou quickly scrubbed himself with the soap that was lying on the corner before slowing down to properly wash his long hair. He picked up the towel and wrapped his thin body in it. Since he didn't have any other clothes with him, Ryou muttered a quick spell to dry the ones he had earlier and put them back on. It was true that the spirit had left him alone for a long time, and Ryou knew that there would have been a payment for it eventually. After all, the King of Thieves never gave anything for free.

"Let's go, Cairoshell." The cat followed him out of the baths and into the hall that led to the common room. It wouldn't be a good idea to roam the castle at that hour when there were so many to see him. If the spirit wanted a secret room to work in, then it would have to be somewhere close but unnoticeable.

_Now you're using your head_. The thief chuckled. _Go deeper into the dungeons_.

There were multiple hallways to go through after stepping into the area under the grand lake. The most straightforward one led to the common room; the other ones, no one was so sure about. Instead of going left like usual, he went right, then right again at the next fork in the path. Torches hanging on the wall provided light up to a certain point. After twenty minutes of walking, the torches disappeared.

Ryou pulled out his wand, holding the white end out. "Lumos." He had been staring right at the tip when it lit up and almost blinded himself. He shut his eyes for a second and pointed the wand to the space in front of him. _How much longer?_

_Until I say when to stop. So shut up and keep moving_.

Not five minutes passed after the spirit's command when they arrived at a dead end. It was a cave, the size of a single room, dome-shaped and completely bare. Cairoshell walked around the perimeter once then stopped at Ryou's feet. He meowed as if to assure him that there was, in fact, no other doorway or exit.

_ This is far enough_. Without warning, the spirit took over and shut Ryou away in his mind completely. Bakura scanned the room with a grin. The light on the wand flickered, dimmed, then transferred to the other end. "What now?" Annoyed, he twirled the stick to the dark end and instantly felt strange energy flow up his arm and body. His grinned grew. "Heh, looks like I found my right wand."

"Nya~." Cairoshell made his presence known to the stranger. His owner had suddenly vanished and in his place stood the dark aura.

Bakura glanced down. "What, cat?"

Cairoshell growled lightly and circled him. His tail swished from side to side and his ears were pressed down. He meowed once more then trotted to the entrance to sit and wait.

Ignoring him, the spirit felt around the wall to check if it were dry. Next, he peered up at the ceiling to make sure that there were no leaks or a chance of a cave-in. So far, it seemed like the perfect hide out. And with the maze they had to go through, he doubted anyone would make it this far. _But just to be certain..._ Bakura placed his palm flat against the space directly across the entrance. He let a small amount of his shadow magic leak out, but it was enough. It grew, absorbing the feint trace of the wizards' magic. Like a hungry beast, it devoured it and spread to cover the surface of the room, even creating a barred door of black metal.

He was able to faze right through it and once on the other side, the door turned into darkness itself. If anyone did get this far, all they would see is a wall and the shadows would remain hidden. Now that he had a place to work in, the next step would be to find the right ingredients. Ryou would have to take care of that too. Bakura grunted at the thought of having to give the pathetic weak boy back control. It couldn't be helped at the moment, so he retreated back into his soul room.

Ryou looked around to find that he was in the same place as before. When he felt something touch his leg, he jumped and dropped his wand. "Wha... oh, it's you." Cairoshell was sniffing his foot, looking for something. "What's wrong?" Ryou kneeled down to pet his head and pick up the glowing stick. The cat turned his ears back at the sound of his voice then began to purr.

"Did the spirit scare you?" Ryou smiled at his friend before looking up. "How am I going to get back?" The countless turns he had taken were impossible to remember. He was lost in the labyrinth.

_Use the ring_.

_The ring?_ Ryou pulled it out and held it parallel to the ground. The sharp points dangled, except for the middle one that pointed straight ahead. _It's probably responding to the magic_, thought Ryou. He followed the directions of the ring. He made it out in less time than it took to find the room.

In the main hall, he put the ring out of sight under his clothes. He was walking as he did that and almost bumped into a group of students. He waited for them to pass first to go back to his own room, but had to pause again as another group walked by. "It must be time for dinner." Ryou sighed and touched his stomach once he noticed how hungry he was. "Cairoshell, go wait for me by the fireplace and I'll bring you a treat. Ok?" The cat blinked, understanding the gist of the command and left while he went in the opposite direction with the rest of the students.

Ryou stepped into the Great Hall trying to bypass the large crowd of other hungry students. "Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she Weasley?" He turned his head to the sound of the voice talking above the others. He noticed that everyone's eyes were on the same person, Malfoy. The Slytherin was waving a newspaper around, grinning.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there too and none of them looked too happy, Ron especially, with a bright red, angry face. From the insult Malfoy had just shouted for all to hear, Ryou was sure that a fight was about to begin. He made his way to them as Harry retorted back about Malfoy's own mother. "What about your own mother? The expression she always has, it's like she has dung under her nose."

"Don't you dare insult my mother!"

"Then don't talk about someone else's."

Malfoy was reaching for his wand when Ryou grabbed onto his sleeve. "Stop. There are professors here." Ryou glanced around the room and, sure enough, there was Moody only a few meters away. "You'll get in trouble."

"Yeah, Malfoy." Harry said. "You don't want to get in trouble." He started turning away to head to his table.

Furious now, Malfoy snatched his arm back and aimed at Harry's back. "Wait!" Ryou managed to deflect it by latching himself onto the limb, the spell barely missing the raven's head. A loud_ bang_ echoed in the room as it hit the wall across from them.

"Let go!" Malfoy shook his arm in an attempt to free himself from the clinging boy. After a few tries, he was able to push Ryou away and took another shoot at Harry who was on the ground reaching for his own wand and missed again.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" Moody appeared, wand in hand and prepared to do his own spell.

Without even thinking, only remembering how Malfoy had saved him, Ryou ran back to the blond and turned to face the Self Defense teacher. He didn't get the chance to say anything as the spell hit him in the chest, creating small dark sparks at the impact and sent both boys flying backwards. They collided on the floor a foot away from where they had been standing.

Right away, Ryou sat up and felt around his shoulders, arms, and torso and sighed in relief when it all seemed normal to his touch. How could a teacher point his wand at a student? Ok, so it was Moody, but still!

Malfoy sat up next to him. "Bakura! Why did..." His sentence went unfinished as he stared at the white-haired boy with wide eyes. "Your ears."

"My ears?" Curiously, ,Ryou lifted a hand to the side of his head. He nearly shrieked when he felt soft, furry animal ones instead.

More people crowded around. "Are those cat ears?" Someone whispered

"Ferret." Moody corrected in a calm tone.

"What is going on here?" The transfiguration professor cut through the children surrounding them. She took one look at Ryou's newest body parts and turned to Moody for an explanation.

"It appears that the little white one there intercepted my spell. Which reminds me; that Malfoy still needs to learn his lesson about attacking his peers."

McGonogall's mouth gaped open. "Teach him a lesson? Professor, we _never_ use spells on the students for punishments, much less try to turn them into animals."

Ryou, meanwhile had stood with his hands covering his pure white ears that matched his hair. He could feel a deep blush rise on his face as he heard the comments around him.

"Look at how white they are."

"So soft looking too."

"Aren't they cute?"

"Aww, it suites him."

"Hey, is that a tail?"

"It _is_ a tail!"

Scared to confirm the voices, Ryou peered behind his shoulder. A long white tail thumped slightly against his legs, fully alive and moving. The blush went from pink to red.

"You two." Moody moved towards them and picked up Malfoy from the floor by the arm. "I'm taking you to see dear old Snape. Hurry up." The last sentence he directed at Ryou, meaning for him to follow along as the man dragged Malfoy out of the room.

Gripping onto his tail, Ryou half jogged behind them, wanting nothing more than to leave quickly and take the memory of what had just happened with him. He could still hear a few of the boys laughing and even a girl calling out to him to keep the new appearance. It was definitely not his day today.

Snape was in his office, about to leave for dinner when the odd trio showed up at his door. He gave a weary glace at Malfoy, knowing full well that it had something to do with Potter and getting caught. When he saw Ryou, he felt it unnecessary to ask anything on the matter. "Attacking the students, hmm?"

Moody thrust the attacker forward. "Yes. And I hope you can give him a suitable punishment other than writing down a few lines on paper." His wooden eye rolled angrily as he continued to barrel down the hallway. "Hurry up, Bakura."

Ryou gave a quick bow to Snape and fell into step behind Moody, wondering when the man would be kind enough to remove the spell. He could only be thankful that everyone was eating dinner. Then again, that meant that everyone was already there to see him. _Great_.

They entered the old, plain office of the Defense teacher and took a seat at the desk. "Professor, would you mind, um..." Ryou motioned at his tail.

"Righ, right." With a fast flick, Moody got rid of them. Ryou sighed in relief once he felt his normal human ears. "It didn't work correctly."

"Huh?" The boy looked up at the teacher as he drank from a small flask he carried with him. "What didn't work correctly, sir?"

"The spell." He clarified. "It was suppose' to turn you into a ferret."

Ryou smiled weakly. "Then it is a good thing it didn't."

_Fool! Get out of there_.

The spirit's words that appeared out of nowhere caused Ryou to jump in his chair in surprise. He got up rapidly and took a few steps back. "T-thank you for helping, but I must get going now; I still haven't eaten yet." _Why? What's wrong?_

_Don't ask questions. Just leave without acting so fucking suspicious!_

"Don't worry, I'll get you something." Moody nodded towards the chair for Ryou to sit back down.

Ryou waved his hand in front of him. "No, it's fine. I don't want to waste anymore of your time, sir. And my friend is waiting for me too." Not waiting for a reply, he bowed low in apology and took off. "Thank you, sir." He said before closing the door behind him.

He jogged until he got around a corner where he paused to catch his breath. He winced at the spirit's cursing. _Damn it! Why the fuck did you have to jump in front of the spell?_

_ I don't know. I just did it._

_ Well, thanks to that, that old geezer knows something's not right. The ring absorbed a part of the spell, which is why it didn't work right._

_ B-but he's put spells on me before, during the summer. _

_ Those were expected and allowed. Damn! Stay away from him as much as possible; I can't let myself be discovered so soon. Any more screw-ups and you will regret it_.

Ryou nodded and went back to the Great Hall. If his luck remained the same, though, then dinner would have already been over.

Lady luck managed to smile down upon him at last as he saw everyone still eating. As quietly as he could, Ryou went directly to his table and blended in with the other Slytherins.

"You look normal again." Nott observed next to him. He was already halfway done with his plate.

"You saw?" Ryou chuckled shyly.

"I think everyone did." Nott took a bite out of his chicken. He chewed it and swallowed before speaking again. "But some of the girls seemed to like it." He nudged at Ryou's side with his elbow and winked.

Ryou moaned. "I already stand out enough." He began filling up his own empty plate with the mouth watering foods.

"Why don't you change your hair then? Cut it short or get a different color?"

Ryou thought about it as he chewed. _Because..._ "I like it the way it is."

"Mm-hmm..." Nott could tell there was more to it than that, but decided not to pry. He shrugged instead. "It's your head. So, what are you doing after dinner?"

"Maybe start on Binn's essay. And feed Cairoshell before going to sleep." Before he forgot later on, Ryou grabbed a paper napkin and wrapped a small piece of meat for his cat and stuffed it in a pocket.

"I don't think you have to worry about feeding him. I'm sure the house elves take care of that."

"There are elves here?" Ryou asked, amazed.

Nott raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Who do you think does all of the cleaning at night, or cooks all of the food."

"I thought it was done with magic."

"Some stuff is." Nott laughed. "But not everything; magic does have its limits."

The rest of the evening went by calmly with Nott explaining more on house elves and although Ryou didn't like them being used as servants, he couldn't argue with the fact that the creatures loved their job.

Their light talk continued as they walked to their room and sat comfortable by the fire to do their work. Cairoshell joined them a while later for his promised treat. Once he finished, he sat on Nott's lap and demanded a good scratch.

"Hey, Bakura." Ryou paused in his writing to look up at the one who had called his name. Malfoy had just entered alone, most likely coming from Snape's office.

"What is it?"

"Come here for a second." Malfoy motioned at the bedroom with his head.

"Ok." Ryou excused himself and went with the other to the empty room.

The door was closed behind them and Malfoy finally faced him. "What are you hiding Bakura?"

"What?" Ryou panicked and did his best to show only his shocked surprise. _He couldn't have found out about the spirit_.

"When that crazy man's spell hit you, I felt this darkness coming from you."

Ryou shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." _Darkness?_

The blond glared at him. "Yes you do, and I know that it came from your chest." He looked at him closer. "That gold triangle you had, where is it?"

Now, Ryou was hyperventilating in his head. Slowly, he took it out and off his neck. Snape had found nothing wrong with it, so a student wouldn't have any luck either; or so he hoped. "Right here." He handed it over to Malfoy. The other took it cautiously and turned it in every direction. Then he brought out his wand and tapped it against the surface a few times.

The boy stared into the eye engraved on it before giving it back. "I know I felt something, Bakura." With that, he moved past him and went back to join the rest of his group.

Ryou put the ring back on and stared down at it. Malfoy said he felt darkness coming from it. _Shadow magic. When it absorbed the spell, it had to make itself known._

Maybe that's why the spirit doesn't come out. Because he can't. Wizards can feel magic, and if the spirit appears with the shadow magic that is constantly surrounding him, they would be able to tell. So as long as Ryou stayed in the castle with at least one other person close by, all would be fine. For the moment, all of the spirit's threats were empty.

Inside his mind, Bakura seethed.

* * *

**_A/N: I think a few of you want me to get on with the tournament and all. (Or do you not mind at all?) But maybe the other schools will make their appearance by the next chapter. Maybe._**

**_Thanks for reading, and I'd be ecstatic if you would review as well =3_**


	9. The Ninth

A/N: Thanks again to you amazing people reading and reviewing, and to my great beta DemonKittyAngel =3

Disclaimer: HP and YGO, not mine.

* * *

Avoid the defense professor, and avoid Malfoy. That should be easy, right? Not for Ryou. It was a simple thing, though, to come up with excuses to not be alone in the same room as Moody. He could always whip out something along the lines of 'my friends are waiting for me' or 'I have a ton of homework'. It also helped that Moody hardly tried to question him, which also made him wonder if the man really suspected him at all. But Malfoy was another story.

"Bakura, why don't you sit next to us?" The Slytherin and Ravenclaw houses were having potions together and, like usual, sat in opposite sides of the room. Malfoy was standing besides his chair with two empty ones on his left, and Crabbe and Goyle on his right.

Ryou and Nott were already seated as part of the borderline between the houses. "Thanks." Ryou said politely. "But we're fine here."

"Why is he always doing that?" Nott whispered, his head bent low. "It's like he's desperate to be your little buddy all of the sudden."

"He thinks I'm hiding something." Ryou whispered back.

"Are you?"

"No!"

"Right. Malfoy is just pulling this all out of thin air." Nott smiled. "Well, it's really not my business anyways." Ryou started opening his mouth but was cut off. "Just don't worry about it too much. I'm sure he'll leave it alone once the two other schools get here today."

"That's today?" Ryou looked down at the date he had written on his notes to realize it was, indeed, the last few days of October. _How time flies_.

Nott shook his head. "So forgetful Bakura. Which reminds me." He turned away to dig through his bag. "A friend of mine drew this sketch you _have_ to see it." Finding the right paper, Nott pulled it out waved it in front of Ryou. "What do you think?"

Ryou's mouth fell open and Nott let out a stifled laugh at the reaction he got. "Th-that's me!" He stared at the simple ink drawing of himself, tilting his head and smiling with small triangle ears half hidden in his hair and a tail wrapped around his body.

He reached for it just as Nott pulled his hand away. "Sorry, Bakura, but this is mine."

"Hey! Watch where you're flinging that." Both boys turned to the two glaring Ravenclaw girls besides Nott.

"I'm sorry." Ryou quickly apologized. With Nott looking back, he tried reaching for the paper, which was pulled farther back.

"Sorry." Nott said. "And to make up for it, I'll let you see this wonderful sketch."

The girls looked annoyed but accepted the paper. They looked over it for a few seconds before chuckling to themselves. "I remember this." One of them said.

Ryou groaned and let his head fall down on the desk. He felt Nott place his hand on his shoulder. "You are too easy to tease, did you know that?"

Thankfully, Snape entered the classroom then and everyone quieted down. "Today, you will be making a simple potion, so I expect them all to be _no less_ than perfect." He got to the front of the room and turned to face them with a sweep of his cape. "It is the Nocturna Suppressio. Who can tell me what that is?"

Nott raised his hand. "It is a nightmare potion. When the victim drinks it, he will be plagued by his worst thoughts and memories the moment he falls asleep."

Snape nodded. "Correct. Five points for Slytherin. Now, I want you all in groups of four using only one cauldron. All of the ingredients have been set up on the side table, and the instructions are on page 53. You may begin."

Ryou peered on the Slytherin side to see that all of them had grouped up already. He leaned over Nott to speak to the two girls from earlier. "Ano, would you like to work together?" He smiled as politely as he could.

The girls looked at each other, sharing a secret message. Finally, one of them shrugged. "Fine. But we don't want any messing around."

Nott shrugged his shoulders and placed his cauldron up on the table. He then held out his hand. "I'm Theodore Nott, by the way."

"Ryou Bakura." Ryou had to stretch hard to reach the girls' hands.

"I'm Lisa Turpin, and this is Mandy Brocklehurst."

With introductions over with, they each stood to retrieve a couple of the ingredients and spread them out before them. Between the four of them, the potion was turning more into the dark purple shade it needed to be. The silence they had was appreciated for it let them work in peace. It became clear right away that they each knew what they were doing.

Ryou was busy cutting small slits into the stem of a purple flower with his nail when Nott glanced over at him. "What are you doing?"

"I saw Snape doing it like this once, to get more of the juice out." He finished and, holding onto the closed bud, started mixing the potion as it changed to a deep violet. "See."

The Ravenclaw girls looked into the cauldron. "Interesting." Mandy said. "What did you do?"

"I cut the stem a bit, to get the juice out." Ryou repeated as the girls wrote it down in their notes.

Lisa finished grinding powder from a large claw. "How many pinches of dragon's claw did we need? Three?"

"Four." Mandy took the book to double check, then nodded at her friend to continue. The substance sizzled but otherwise stayed the same. "And now for the last step: 'three drops of snake's venom to call the dark, or five to leave the drinker a mark'. I guess we get to decide if it should be a light dream, or a nasty, horrible one." She smiled.

"I go for a nasty one." chose Nott. "How about you, Bakura?"

"Whichever you are all fine with." He said, but hoped that they would pick five drops.

"What if we have to drink it though?" Lisa thought out loud.

Nott raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think Professor Snape would be allowed to give his students their worst imaginable nightmares?"

"Good point." Lisa looked down at the book one more time then brought her head up grinning. "Go for it then, make it a horrible dream."

Ryou was the one holding onto the vile and slowly tipped it over. The thick, yellow-green liquid ran down where it paused at the opening and slowly released five drops. The potion didn't change until Nott moved it around clockwise ten times that the shade took on a more clear tone. "And we are done." Nott placed the spoon back on the table to let the others observe their work.

Since they had finished quicker than most of the other groups, they relaxed to converse. "Nott, was it?" Mandy began. "About that drawing, you don't mind if we keep it, right?"

"Of course not. My friend can make more." Nott waved the matter away (ignoring the bewildered stare coming from the model of the artwork).

"It was, um, nice. Meeting you both." said Lisa. "At least we didn't get paired up with other incompetent Slytherin, no offense."

"We all have opinions." Nott scratched his chin. "Like, I used to think Ravenclaw were the nerdy bunch who refused to socialize much."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Really? Well, I always believed Slytherins to be nothing but arrogant jerks."

Nott chuckled softly at that. "It's true for a lot of us."

Snape moved along the aisle, inspecting every potion as the last few ingredients were added. Once he arrived to Ryou's group, he leaned into the cauldron. "The clearest violet I have seen so far." Ryou couldn't hold back a smile at which Nott gave a sly grin. The professor stepped back to finish his inspection before going to the front of the class. "Every potion turned out adequate enough, but only one was made close to perfection." He glanced at Ryou, knowing well that the boy had digested every piece of information he had let out during the summer, intentionally or not. "Both Slytherin and Ravenclaw are awarded 10 points each."

The group smiled to each other as Snape told his students to place their potion on the side of the front table. Ryou volunteered himself, grabbed the cauldron with both hands, and stepped into the aisle. He was looking straight at the blackboard as he moved down, blinked, and found himself staring at the chandelier hanging over him. Ryou stilled in confusion. He wanted to ask what was happened, but as soon as his mouth opened, thick, warm liquid invaded his lips, threatening to choke him if he didn't swallow. On instinct, Ryou sat up, wondering how he ended up on his back in the first place.

Nott was at his side a second later, pounding on his back. "Breathe Bakura!" He kept slamming the palm of his hand against Ryou while holding onto his shoulder to keep him from falling forward. Nott wasn't as worried about his friend choking at this point, since he was coughing lightly now, but whether or not he had swallowed anything. Once Ryou stopped, Nott grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake to get his attention. "Bakura, did you drink any of it?"

Ryou calmed himself first from the sudden turn of events before registering what Nott had asked. He paled. "I did..."

The girls behind them looked at one another and grimaced. "We made it to be a horrible nightmare too." Mandy murmured.

"What is going on here?" Snape was starring, quite irritated, at the mess.

Ryou looked down at the ground, partially in shame and embarrassment. "I'm sorry professor. I'll clean it up."

"Sir," Nott cut in, "is there any way to reverse the effect of the potion?"

"There isn't." Snape looked at Ryou's defeated face understanding that he must have drank some of it, and added, "Come after classes for a different potion that _might_ cancel the Nocutrna Suppressio. But you will have to make it yourself."

"Hai." Ryou bent back down to pick up the cauldron (Snape took the action as his signal to return to inspecting the students' finished products). More of the purple mixture oozed down from his robe before plopping on the floor with the rest of it.

Lisa hopped off her desk, holding her wand out. "Here, let me help." She muttered a fast spell and the entire potion began to disappear, as if soaking though the floor and clothing completely. The pot Ryou was holding began to feel heavier as the potion filled it.

"Thank you." Said Ryou gratefully, then finished putting their completed assignment with the rest of the class'.

"Are you alright?" Nott asked after Ryou returned to his seat. "You looked like you blanked out for a second before falling back."

Ryou nodded. "I get clumsy sometimes." Although this was true, he knew the blame fell upon the spirit. Since he had lost a portion of his landlord's obedience, he now saw fit to torture him any way he could, and the Nocutrna Suppressio was the perfect opportunity.

Sensing the negative thoughts about him, Bakura laughed inside his head. _Sweet dreams. _~dude, just evil.~

_~/~/~/~/~_

Because classes had ended early, Ryou and Nott had more than enough time to finish the sleep potion. It would put the drinker right to sleep, without any dreams. Ryou could only hope that it was stronger than the other one. He carried the small vile in his inside pocket as he and Nott went outside to join the rest of Hogwarts. It was cold, but everyone shivered from excitement instead. They all waited impatiently, some just wanting to get it all over with and return to the warmth inside. Nott was one of them.

"I don't get w-why we have to freeze out h-here." He was hugging his body to preserve the bit of body heat he had. "I-I mean, they can show off inside t-t-too."

Ryou laughed lightly and buried his face deeper into his scarf. "How will they arrive anyways?"

"W-who knows. But it b-better be impressive." Nottt huddled closer into the Slytherin crowd.

Everything was quiet, until exclamations and shouts were heard, accompanied by fingers being pointed at the sky. Ryou followed the gazes to a...giant carriage? He squinted. It wasn't only the carriage that was giant as it got closer, but the white, winged horses too. His jaw dropped as the massive structure flew lower and landed on the snow.

"Look! Over there!" Ryou turned his head around at the anonymous voice towards the lake. The surface shook and the still water rippled. A pole, or a mast as it turned out to be, broke through, followed by the whole ship it belonged to.

From his distance he was able to see figures stepping out of them both, but couldn't make them out. The Sixth and Seventh years were also all in the front, forcing Ryou to hop a few times just to get a clearer view.

Eventually, Nott grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. "Come on, they opened the doors. You'll see them inside." They were a few of the first people to enter the Great Hall and take their seats. They had been planning to eat at their usual spot at the edge of the table, but it was already taken by older students, so instead they chose a spot a few meters down.

"Finally." Nott had plopped himself down and waited for his trembling to die down. More students began to fill the empty spaces, farther down the row so that it left a gap between Ryou, who was sitting at Nott's left, and the rest of his house.

Ryou still wanted a better look at the new people and kept glancing at the doorway, until the first school stepped in. They were led by a woman even larger than Hagrid, it seemed. Her presence even dwarfed the shivering students walking behind her. "That's Beauxbatons." Nott motioned towards them with a nod.

"Then that must be Drumstrang coming in." Ryou had heard the schools being mentioned plenty of times, so he didn't feel too clueless about it.

The second school stood around awkwardly before moving towards the Slytherin table and sitting in the empty space by the two boys. Just as the area was filling up, Malfoy and his followers appeared across from them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Malfoy greeted the guests with a broad smile. Nott rolled his eyes. "You are Victor Krum, if I'm not mistaken." The boy continued as he leaned in to one particular elder Drumstrang boy.

"I am."

Malfoy smirked and took a quick glace over his shoulder. Over at the Gryfindor table, there was a rather displeased redhead glaring their way.

"He's doing this on purpose, isn't he." Ryou whispered to Nott.

Nott shrugged. "Slytherin habbit."

"How about a tour of our school later on?" The blond continued. "That way, you won't get lost too often."

"How kind of you." The boy, Krum, said.

Malfoy then directed his attention to Ryou. "You'll help too, right Bakura?"

"Huh?" The question caught him off guard. "Oh, well...I just got here so I'm not too sure..."

"That's why you have Nott with you." Malfoy pressed. "And Crabbe, Goyle, and I will be there too."

Ryou really couldn't say no, especially with the 'tourists' right next to them. Then again, they were going to be part of a larger group. He sighed to himself. "Ok."

They ate after Dumbledore spoke, explaining the tournament once again along with how the Goblet of Fire worked. The age limit had been placed at seventeen, but even if Ryou had been old enough, he wouldn't bother to try entering.

Small chatter dominated the meal while Ryou picked at his food. The nightmare that was to come had him worried. What would he see? What would he remember? He felt a pair of eyes on him and looked up at the muscular Krum. "Are you done eating?" His accent was heavy, but still comprehensible.

Ryou put his fork down. "Yes, I'm full already."

Krum shook his head disappointingly. "Eat more. Fill those bony arms." He poked Ryou's arm lightly. "Men need to have muscle. "

A few of the people listening giggled. Ryou smiled. "I already eat a lot; I just never gain any weight."

"Exercise!" Another Drumstrang student called out. "Run a lap around the school every morning, like I do."

"He'll die of of exhaustion before he even go halfway." Nott laughed.

Ryou nodded in agreement. "I'm better at reading and studying anyways."

"He's right, you know." Said Malfoy. "He's pretty good at potions even drinks them himself to make sure they're made right."

Pink rose on Ryou's cheeks at the mention of his earlier blunder in front of the class. He was saved from deeper conversation on that subject as they were dismissed to their dorms.

Ryou stood then bowed towards the new students. "it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy your stay here."

The students all bowed their heads in return. "We are honored to be here."

They all went their separate ways out in the Great Hall. "That was entertaining, for once." Nott stretched his arms up high as he yawned. Cairoshell greeted them as they entered the common room with a loud meow.

His owner bent down to give him a good scratch behind the ears. "Yeah."

"Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning. Hope the potion works."

They said goodnight to each other and Ryou scooped up his cat in his arms and carried him into his bed. He was just finishing switching into his night clothes when he heard Bakura's voice.

_Don't drink the potion yet._ Ryou ignored him and pulled out the vile from his robe. _Growing a backbone now? It's a little lat for that._ Again, Ryou paid him no attention as he pulled the cork out with a loud pop. _I am not powerless Yadonushi. In fact, with all of this magic around, I'm actually stronger than I was before. If you don't do as I say, then there really is no point in staying here. I could just...kill a couple of people, send a few more to the shadow realm, and disappear. And guess who will be left behind with the blame. _

The potion was right at Ryou's lips, only a movement away from being tipped into his mouth. _Which human should be first? Maybe the Nott boy, and Snape. There's Malfoy too– _

Ryou slammed the potion shut before letting it drop on the covers. "What do you want?" He could picture the smirk the spirit had as he spoke.

_We need to get started on that spell. Tonight, go to the dungeon room and go over it so that you can start getting what you need._

Cairoshell jumped onto the bed and circled the pillow before curling up. He kept his head up, watching the three others that had just entered. To avoid any confrontation, Ryou bid them good night and closed the curtains around him.

For an hour, he laid on his back while his cat kept him awake. Cairoshell seemed to have known that Ryou would be leaving in a while, and decided to pounce all over as if hunting invisible mice. After everything quieted down, Ryou got up and put on his robe over his pajamas and tip-toed out of the room.

Ryou slipped the ring out and let it guide him back in. The soft glow it gave was barely enough to allow Ryou to walk without tripping on the occasional stone slab that poked out of the ground. Cairoshell followed, which he was glad for. He didn't really like the idea of moving around in that black abyss all alone. Technically, Bakura would always be in his head, but he wasn't the most comforting person to have around.

The boy and his cat arrived at the black wall that turned itself into a gate once they were close enough. Ryou had expected the spirit to take over and grew suspicious when nothing happened. _Well, since you want me to take control so badly... _Before Ryou could protest, he was shoved back into his mind, but still left conscience, looking through Bakura's line of sight. The gate before them opened as he stepped through.

Ryou had brought the book with him and Bakura leafed through it, using his host's memory to read English. "I am only letting you stay awake because you're going to be the one gathering everything." He spoke out loud. When he found the right page, he leaned back against the wall and read silently along with Ryou.

Soul Transfer (to a different vessel)

More complicated than possession is creating a new, functional vessel. Usually, the body is already on the verge of death, before soul transferring since the present body's grip on the soul lessens, if not break apart completely. The new body can be made of any material as long as it comes fresh from the earth, such as clay, mud, or wood. However, it has to be made by hand of magic origins for it to adequately house a soul.

This spell also depends on the strength of the soul itself. Should it be weak, the body, although it accepts it, will refuse to move and continue to be inanimate. The stronger it is, the more movement and control it has. But once it has been transferred, it cannot be undone unless it has a living body to return to. Otherwise, the soul will remain trapped until its vessel is destroyed. 

The soul transfer is not to be confused with a horcrux for it can only work if the spirit is complete. It is advised that this spell be done as a last resort; even the smallest of mistakes made during the spell or potion can destroy the entire process.

Beneath it was a list of at least fifteen different ingredients ranging from plants to blood and bones. The procedure was specific and incredibly detailed too, so Ryou didn't believe he would have any problems following it. _But where to get everything asked for?_

"You steal it." Bakura stated as if it was the most obvious answer. "That potions professor must get all of those things from somewhere."

_I can't do that!_ Ryou gasped.

"You can and you will." Bakura snapped. He went through the ingredients again "The body will have to be made first, but I don't have time for a perfect imitation." _It's not like you can make one anyways_.

Ryou stayed quiet. In a way, he was happy to agree with the spirit. There was just no way he would be able to create a perfect body that could blend, noticeably, with humans. This spell wouldn't work.

"Don't forget I have my own magic." Shutting the book, Bakura laid it on the floor in the corner farthest away from the door. "You can carve well enough, so all you'll need is a knife and some wood to create the shape. Then you can start collecting everything you'll need."

He started leaving the room, not pausing to give Ryou back control. _Wait. What are you doing?_ Ryou panicked.

"Teaching you to obey." The spirit grinned. "I've been wanting to meet your little friends for a while."

_N-no. You can't!_ Ryou searched for a reason to turn back. _They'll find out you're here. Wizards can sense you._

"When they're asleep, their defenses fall; stupid wizards think they're perfectly safe in their little bubble of magic."

_Please, don't do anything. I promise, I'll finish that spell quickly._

"How quickly."

There was a pause. _Two months._

"I'm giving you one."

_But the spell's too complicated, not to mention carving a full-sized body._

Bakura became irritated at this point with his host's whining. "I am already being generous with you. A month is all you get. After that, I can guarantee that people will start dropping like flies around here." To Ryou's relief, he gave him back control of the body just as they were nearing the entrance.

Ryou sighed, slipping the ring back underneath his robe and hurried to the safety of his bed. However, there was still one more task to complete. _Go to the kitchen first_.

"The kitchen?"

_Yes, the kitchen where food is made._ Bakura remarked, as if Ryou were the stupidest person on earth. _You can find knives in there_.

_But why tonight?_

_ Because there will be others sneaking around. That gives you less of a chance of getting caught._

Ryou was about to ask why anyone would be up at this hour, when he remembered the Goblet of Fire. There was always people, too shy or too embarrassed, to sign up to such an event and so would sneak in their name when there was no one around to watch. Maybe that's why it was left out for 24 hours. _I don't know where the kitchen is, though._

_ Your cat does._ Ryou searched around him for Cairoshell, and found him licking his paw a few paces behind him.

"Cairoshell." His ears flickered towards the voice but otherwise kept cleaning himself. Ryou moved closer and bent down. "Do you know where the kitchen is?"

The cat paused, stretched lazily, then trotted away and left his owner to follow. Soon, there were out of the dungeons and on the main floor, circling behind the Great Hall. They stopped at a wooden door made as boring as possible, probably to attract little to no attention at all.

Cairoshell cried loudly, only once, and waited as if he had done it a thousand times before. The door was opened inwards by a tiny dwarf-like creature. "Kitty return for more dinner?" It said cheerfully. By the high pitched sound of its voice, Ryou could only guess that it was female.

When the elf looked up, her eyes widened in surprise before the smile returned to her face. "Need assistance, Mr. Wizard?"

"Yes, uhh..." Ryou struggled with how to proceed. He couldn't simply ask for a knife straight out, that would get him in trouble and make him seem more suspicious than he already was.

While he hesitated, the elf held his hand and pulled him inside. "Mr. Wizard want snack. Midnight snack. Just like nice kitty." A few more crowded around him, asking what he wanted to eat. One, wearing a simple rag, was holding out a plate of cookies while the one next to it held a glass of milk.

"What would you like, Mr. Wizard?" The female that led him in asked.

"Oh, I would like..." he searched his brain for something that would distract the overenthusiastic elves. "Ano...cream, puffs?" Ryou mentally slapped himself. Of course they wouldn't get to baking at such an hour. But most of them gave him the biggest, goofiest grins and trotted off to get to work. One stayed behind, seemingly awaiting more orders. "I hope you don't mind me asking for this but,"

"Ask away, Sir." The elf said.

"I need to borrow a knife." At the elf's scrunched up, confused expression, Ryou hurried up with his explanation. "It's for carving, like wood carving. Because, uh, I want to get started on these gifts, for my friends." He rushed the end, trying not to lie so much since he was, technically, going to be carving for someone else. Now that he thought about it, Christmas was approaching and he wanted to get his father and Nott something.

_Don't get distracted Yadonushi. _

"Carving knife Sir, for wood?"

"Yes. Yes, for wood." Ryou repeated.

The elf tilted his head. "Don't know, Sir. House elves not allowed to give them, Sir."

Ryou was about to accept it and let that be the end of it, if not for the spirit's interruption. _You are not leaving without one. _Ryou cleared his throat to try again. "W-well, it'll be just until Christmas. And I can come in here to do most of the carving, but I'll be very careful with it."

"Don't know, Sir." The elf sounded nervous now.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Ryou thought harder. "I'm not asking in secrecy. You can tell Headmaster Dumbledore if you're really not comfortable."

_Good idea._ Bakura chuckled. _If we get his permission, no one else would bother us._

"Will do, Mr. Wizard, Sir." And in a puff of smoke, the elf disappeared.

The suddenness of it made Ryou flinch, then he wanted to call him back. It was extremely late, and he was suppose to be sleeping in his room. Now, the elf was going to wake up the headmaster to tell him that one of the students wanted a knife; there was no telling in what kind of trouble he could be in.

The house elves from before returned to take the other's place, one of them holding a plate full of the most delicious looking cream puffs he had ever seen, making him temporarily forget his worry.

"Did you really make these?" He asked as he took one and bit into the sugary, sweet heaven.

"You like them?" They asked.

"They are amazing!"

"Take them to room to eat." Quickly, they placed all six of them into a paper bag and gave it to Ryou.

Said boy accepted them and bowed. "Thank you very much."

Cairoshell had been drinking milk from a small bowl and took a few last licks before returning to his owner. He cried, wanting to go back to his warm spot on the edge of the bed, the pillow if he pestered his owner enough.

The elf returned, then, smiling and holding out a long pouch and a block of wood on the other. "Headmaster approves. Mr. Wizard uses Headmaster's knife."

Ryou thanked him, very gratefully, and took his leave, keeping hold of his little gifts awkwardly. _That knife, he did something to it._ Bakura stated out loud to Ryou.

_I know._ Ryou walked silently and with haste, wanting to return just as much as Cairoshell.

He was about to turn the corner that went past the main hallway when he stopped abruptly and hid back in the shadows. Cautiously, he peeked, letting only one eye look out.

The Goblet of Fire was there, right in the middle of the age circle like it had been all night. But there was the Defense Professor, Moody, with his back to Ryou. _Now what?_ That path was the only way back to the dungeons, unless he circled around the whole castle, which he did not want to do. _I'll just wait; maybe he'll leave soon_. He continued to watch, hearing Moody mutter to himself, then drop something into the glowing fire. Curiosity made Ryou inch out a bit more to get a closer look, when his hold on the wood loosen and it dropped to the floor.

The loud clank it created froze Ryou's entire body before his senses returned. He pick it up fast and risked glancing at the teacher, who was staring right back. Knowing that he was still half hidden in the shadow and his identity still unknown, Ryou turned tail and sprinted. His reaction was too late as a spell was hurled at him. Ryou felt it and managed to side step at the last moment, but the action caused him to trip and fall to on his side on the ground. He was caught.

Bakura cursed loudly, then mentally prepared himself to defend them both should it prove to be necessary.

Ryou stood up painfully slow as he heard the uneven footstep approach. With his head hung low, he faced his teacher and waited, not trusting himself to be the one to initiate the talk. "If it isn't the little ferret boy." There was no hiding the suspicion coating those words. The younger simply hugged the items closer to his chest, too nervous to lift his head and see the angry look in the man's one normal eye. "What, exactly , are you doing out of bed?"

"I went to the kitchen, Professor." His response was soft, barely audible.

"And did you get what you wanted?"

Ryou could imagine that eye spinning crazily in every direction perfectly. "Yes, sir." He waiting for the next question he knew Moody would ask, about what he was holding or what he had received.

It didn't come.

Moody slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Well lad, you better head off to sleep then. Don't want to be tired tomorrow now, do you?"

Ryou shook his head and continued on his way after Moody released him. His body was tense, and it showed in his heavy footsteps. After he realized that, just like Dumbledore had done, Moody had let him go, Ryou turned to him, bowed once said, "Oyasumi." and jogged away.

In the room, he shut the door with too much force once Cairoshell was safe inside. The noise caused a stir in the bed next to his. Ryou made his way to his bed casually just as Malfoy sat up sleepily. "Who's there?"

"Sorry, Malfoy. I didn't mean to wake you." Hidden behind the curtains of his four poster bed, Ryou removed his robe and shoved the pouch and piece of wood into his trunk.

"Where were you?" Came the testy reply.

"The bathroom."

"Liar." Malfoy whispered. "I can smell the food from here."

Ryou eyed the paper bad and decided that he was just no good at lying. After a pause, he answered, "I got hungry, so I went out to the kitchen to get some food. Do you want a crème puff? I think I got too many."

He heard Malfoy sigh. "Give me one then, whatever they are."

Grabbing the bag, Ryou left to sit on the small space Malfoy had made for him on the bed. The blond lit his wand and set it on his lap before reaching for one of the sweets. His eyes scanned over the small, round ball first, then took a bite. After deciding that it tasted good enough, he commenced in finishing it and took another. "Why did you jump in front of that spell." He asked.

Ryou looked at him, then shrugged. "I don't know, I just did."

"So it wasn't only you paying me back for before?" asked Malfoy.

Ryou's eyes widen slightly, realizing that intercepting the spell could become a debt paid. "I wasn't thinking of it like that at the moment."

They were only able to finish half of the desserts on their own until they became satisfied and Malfoy kick him off the bed. "Get off, I need my sleep."

"Hai, hai." He scrambled off and snuggled in his own, but had to sacrifice his pillow to the feline already sleeping on it. "Good night." Ryou called out as he reached for the sleeping potion.

"Good night." Yawned Malfoy. "Try not to scream too much."

"I will." Ryou uncorked it again and chugged the whole potion in one go. It had a bitter taste to it, enhanced by the midnight snack he just had. The effect was evident right away as his eyelids began to droop and his arms (became) too heavy to lift. The last thing he heard was the spirit's voice: _I'll be enjoying the show, Yadonushi._

~/~/~/~/~

Burning. Screaming. Chaos. Everything was on fire so it was impossible not to breathe in the smoke that swallowed everything within reach. Men clad in armor carried spears and torches. They were impossibly tall with monstrous face and no eyes as they set more houses on fire. The city, Ryou's city, was slowly crumbling to the floor as hell rose to the surface.

People, men women, and even children, were dragged out of bed into the night of blood. Some were killed on the spot, usually the biggest of the men. The rest were led away with tear-stained faces and holding on tightly to their loved once that were still alive.

The environment fazed from his old home in Japan to dirt roads and sand covering every inch of ground. The people in jeans and colorful night clothes became dark-skinned and wearing rags and thin robes. The two worlds, from two different times, mashed into each other, leaving Ryou confused with where he was and who he was crying for. Pain and sorrow that wasn't entirely his, almost took a hold on him until he snapped out of it and began looking for a way out.

He went unnoticed at first while he was rooted to the spot outside, witnessing the massacre. But once he took a step back, the soldiers simultaneously turned their heads towards him.

_Run!_ With only one goal in mind, he put distance between himself and the monsters chasing him. His heart beat too fast and loud, threatening to rip through his chest. Pure fear and anguish dominated his being as he stepped though pools of blood that appeared to get bigger the farther he ran.

When he took a step a few meters later, his foot sank and Ryou found he was in thick quicksand. Only, it wasn't sand that was pulling him into nothingness and certain death. It was liquid, golden and incredibly hot.

Ryou's throat was too dry to scream. He stared, speechless, at the faces that began to materialize in the surface. They too couldn't speak, their gaping mouths released no sound. But the horror in their eyes spoke for them, the same look Ryou had.

Hands shot out to grab Ryou's legs and help quicken his descent. Ryou looked upwards for something to grab and pull himself out. A small child stood high up was a platform. With beautiful long hair and petite body, fragile and slender, Ryou recognized her instantly. It was Amane, his sister. Ryou's heart sank seeing her so terrified and knowing what would happen to her. He no longer worried about himself and his situation. All his brain registered was Amane edging closer, cornered and with no where else to go. And then the guard behind her does it. He pushes her in and all Ryou can do is scream and try to reach her. Hands grab her first, pulling her under, and silencing her cries within seconds. Although he couldn't see her anymore, Ryou somehow knew that she was now one of the many faces and arms reaching out to him.

The dead in the giant cauldron had managed to sink Ryou down to his head. The last thing he did was shut his eyes and hold his breath before disappearing entirely.

Everything turned cold.

Darkness covered all, so having his eyes opened or closed made no difference. Was he floating? Was he going up, or down; was he even moving at all? Ryou rolled over, or at least he thought he did. That was when he saw the mirror, the one that had showed him his one desire. It was the Mirror of Erised, except that it showed something different. One lone man, wearing similar clothing as some of the people that had died that night, white robe and turbine on his head, stood facing him. Kind, but tragic eyes stared into his own. His lips moved, but no sound went through the glass.

"I can't hear you." Ryou said.

The man kept speaking, repeating the same thing over and over. Ryou could only shake his head. "I don't know what you're saying."

Smiling now, the man lifted an arm and placed a palm against the clear surface. Ryou copied the motion and pressed his palm up against the glass and the man's. Feelings surged through him, causing immediate tears to flow down his cheeks. But he didn't know the man, never seen him before, so why cry? How did he know that the one before him cared greatly for him? This stranger knew him, but not 'him' as he was.

They stayed that way, one wanting to understand the other. Sensing the end nearing, the man leaned closer to mouth a few words slowly. _Forget. The real monster is no more. There is no reason left for revenge. You are free._

As soon as he finished, shadows swallowed the mirror to show the face of a diabolical creature with red eyes and sharp pointed teeth jutting out of its gums and mouth. It was laughing silently and if Ryou would have heard it, it would have pierced his ears and shook his entire body. But its words echoed in his head.

**I am you, and you are me.**

It laughed again and the mirror exploded in white light.

* * *

A/N: Just a warning, test are coming up so it's likely that I might disappear for a while XP. Sorry.

And if there's any tendershipping fans who want this fic to be one...yeah, probably won't happen. But! I did write a one-shot titled His Keeper's Keeper, so you can read that if you want. (TENDERSHIPPING FTW!)


	10. The Tenth

_**A/N: Somehow, I managed to write up another chapter thanks to a sudden, and unexpected inspiration. My (amazing) English teacher finally decided to read HP after enough pressure from the class (major fans), finished the first two books, then had a mini HP movie marathon. We still need to finish watching Chamber of Secrets, but it brings so many memories; and little Harry is just too adorable! and Ron too *squeal* Anyways, enjoy chapter 10 ^^ **_

_**Beta'd by the great DemonKittyAngel**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own YGO nor HP but...(sadly, there is no 'but' in here)**_

**BETA NOTE:**

**Dear readers,**

**I'm sorry the chapter is so late. I received it last week but due to final exams, did not have a chance to edit. This is not the author's fault.**

**~DemonKittyAngel**

* * *

"Hey, Bakura. Wake up!" Carbbe shook the other boy shifting on the bed and mumbling in a different language. When his eyes remained closed, Crabbe looked at Malfoy and Goyle standing by the blond's bed. "He's not waking up."

"I can see that." Malfoy strolled over. "It's the potion. It's not letting him leave." Uncertain with whether to call a teacher or not, they watched Ryou until he became deathly still. That couldn't be good.

Goyle poked the boy, receiving no reply. "Do we leave him like that?"

Malfoy sighed. "The night's almost over, so he should be waking up soon. Just leave him there." He stalked back to his own bed with every intention of going back to sleep. As he was climbing into the covers, Ryou let out a piercing scream that made the other three jump.

Ryou shot up, wide-eyed and frightened. When he saw Crabbe's figure obscured by the candlelight's weak shine, he scrambled backwards and fell off the bed in a jumble of blankets. He was sweating, making his skin sticky so that his clothes and hair clung to his frame. His breathing came in rapid rasps appearing like a crazed, wild animal to his roommates.

No one said a word, afraid that it would startle him and make him start screaming again. Once Ryou had calmed down -meaning that his breath returned to normal- Goyle took the chance to approach him. "Bakura?"

Ryou snapped his head to the sound of the voice. "O-oh, Goyle…" His eyes darted around the room, making sure that he was really back in the real world. He gave a half nervous, half scared laugh. "I guess I screamed."

"You _wailed_, actually." Malfoy said. "Like a dying animal."

"…oh…" Slowly, Ryou pulled himself up after untangling his body from the sheets. Feeling warmer than usual, he checked his forehead, but didn't think he had a fever.

Malfoy watched him before turning to Crabbe and Goyle. "Go get him a glass of water. I think those house elves leave some by the fire place." Both left without a complaint, showing just how much they hung onto Malfoy's every word.

Ryou took no notice of this as he pulled out the Millennium Ring. Half of his dream- no, nightmare- had been about Egypt. The way the people were dressed and the endless sand supported that theory. The spirit held some influence in what he'd seen and the thought of Bakura witnessing that, or worse, being the cause of it, made his stomach churn. He tossed the ring onto the pillow, not wanting it close to him at the moment.

"First you risk your life for that thing," Malfoy directed his attention to the golden artifact, "and then you throw it away."

"Sorry Malfoy." Ryou could barely register what had been said as he held his head in his hands, willing the repeating images to dissipate. Amane's terror-stricken face especially, burned into his mind and he knew that would haunt him again in other dreams. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I though the potion would work a-and…" He let his body fall face down onto his bed. "I hate this. I shouldn't have come here." _What if what I saw was a vision? Something the spirit is planning to do?_

The other two Slytherin returned with Nott close behind. "Hey, you alright? I heard a scream."

Ryou nodded grimly and accepted the water from Crabbe with a 'thank you'. He hadn't notice just how parched his throat was until he drank the cool liquid. "I'll be fine. Sorry."

Nott chuckled in an attempt to alleviate his friend's tension. "Well, your screaming is what is going to give everyone nightmares now; they already think this place is haunted."

He managed to get a small smile from Ryou as he stood. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep again. I guess I'll start on that essay for McGonogal right now…" He was talking more to himself rather than to the others. He grabbed his bag and the ring, still refusing to look at it, and bowed to everyone. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Don't apologize so much." The blond said.

"Sorry."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "See you in the morning."

Nott couldn't refrain from responding. "It already is morning."

"Shut up, Nott." Annoyed, Malfoy blew out the candle and went back to his bed. Crabbe and Goyle followed his example.

"Good _night_ then." Nott pulled Ryou along to prevent him from stumbling around in his state.

Out in the common room, the fireplace had already been lit by some unseen individual with a few logs left out on the side. Ryou sat closest to the warm light on a couch and pulled out a quill, ink bottle, and parchment. Nott had left, but returned a few minutes later with his own bag. Ryou paused in writing his name down as Nott sat on the other side of the couch. "You don't have to stay here." He told Nott.

"No, but I need help with the transfiguration stuff. Not my best subject."

Although Ryou didn't say anything, he was still grateful for the company that helped him relax and begin the process of shoving the memories to the deepest crevice of his mind. But not too deep because that was where the spirit was and he had yet to speak on the matter.

~/~/~/~/~

By the time the house was up and getting ready, many of them were already hurrying to grab their books and supplies at the last minute. Ryou and Nott, however, had been ready since an hour before and were the first to enter the dining hall for breakfast. After finishing the essay, which took about two hours, they still had another hour before their usual rising time. So after changing and gathering their stuff, they tried playing 'fetch the paper ball' with a reluctant Cairoshell, which hadn't worked out very well.

They only had five hours of sleep at the most, but Ryou was more energetic than usual. Nott had trouble not dozing off and falling into his food and strained hard to pay attention to Ryou's rambling.

"Seto Kaiba, who was also in my class, was the one who held the tournament. But before that, it was Pegasus who hosted one but only Yugi and Jonouchi were actually invited. But the rest of us snuck onto the ship and we were lucky not to get caught. I don't really know why I went along; it just felt like the right thing to do."

Nott nodded his head, grasping about half of Ryou's loaded talk. At least it kept him conscience. He stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth and chewed like he had all of the time in the world. "And what was this tournament for again?" He asked in between bites.

"Duel Monsters. Do you want me to explain it again?"

Nott agreed but only because it seemed to distract Ryou from the depressed mood he had while writing moments ago.

As the day progressed, the energy eventually left and Ryou, like Nott, would start to fall asleep in classes. He would begin to doze off, lingering in the middle of reality and dreams. Once he would see the faces melting in gold, he would jerk back and pinch his arm for the remainder of the class.

By lunch time, both boys already couldn't wait to go to sleep. "I can't take this anymore." Nott gave in and let his head hit the table top, nearly landing on his plate.

"We only have one more class." Ryou yawned. "Then the dinner after. Don't forget there are the champions being chosen tonight too."

"Right. The people with a death wish." Keeping his head down, Nott grabbed a piece of meat and chewed using only one cheek. "Who would be crazy enough to do that?"

Ryou took a sip of his juice. "All of the other schools. And the red-headed twins."

"Oh yeah. Too bad they didn't get their names in; they really need that money."

"Why?" Asked Ryou, his curiosity perked knowing that they were related to Ron.

"They have, like, twenty kids and they all have to wear hand-me-downs. Everything the Weasleys have is second hand."

"Oh." Ryou peered at the Gryffindor table and spotted patches of red in the crowd. "I was hoping one of them would win."

"If anyone should win, it needs to be a Slytherin." Nott sat back up and chugged the last of his pumpkin juice. "Time for Defense class."

Ryou nodded wearily, hoping for Mad-Eye Moody's unpredictable personality to keep him awake. But he was disappointed. That day was silent reading, which was strange for the professor to have. Apparently Moody was preoccupied with a paper he was working on.

Ryou and Nott sat besides one another and shared a book in order to be close enough to kick each other when they notice one of them dozing off. Eventually, they had to quit once they were certain their legs would be purple with bruises and had unconsciously nodded off with their heads bowed down. Fortunately, the horrid images had stopped chasing him to make way for the darkness. Ryou welcome it with open arms, preferring oblivion to that nightmare.

Just as he was leaving reality, there was a loud slam on the desk before him, jerking both him and Nott awake. Moody was standing on the other side of their desk with his palm he had hit the wood with still on the desk. "So, sleeping in my class now, are ye?"

Ryou shook his head furiously. "No sir. Ano, sorry sir."

Moody must have felt some pity at his surprise student for he backed up a step. "Did something keep you up at night?"

The boy knew he meant to ask about anything that happened after running into him. "Just a nightmare Professor. I didn't sleep very well."

"A nightmare?" Moody raised an eyebrow at the childish excuse.

"It was the Nocutrna Suppressio." Nott spoke up. He was blinking away the last traces of sleepiness before turning to the teacher. "It made him dream of his worst fears, thoughts and images. He woke up screaming, and then decided to stay up doing homework. I stayed up with him."

"Interesting. I have heard of that potion; was used a while back as mental torture. The poor man was made to drink it every night for a month. It was a miracle he still had a sense of self by the time he was saved." Moody turned his one eye to Ryou. "But constant vigilance is sure to prevail! And you, boy, have certainly shown a speck of it. What was it you dreamed about?"

Ryou opened his mouth, then closed it again and looked down. How could he explain it? The death, murder, blood, Amane? He wasn't even sure where half of that stuff had come from other than the old spirit inside of him and Ryou couldn't risk accidentally letting something important slip out. But if he could describe it in one word, which was all he was allowing himself to say, it would be…"death." The burning corpses flashed through his eyes, forcing him to close them tightly. He even thought he felt those hands pulling on his legs again.

Moody nodded as if he understood. "Stuff your belly to the hilt tonight before going to bed. That should help you rest well."

The room was silent as the conversation had been open for all of them to hear. Those that had heard the frightening scream that sent shivers up and down their spines sent sympathetic glances towards the white-haired boy. The others, mainly the fourth year Hufflepuffs, could only assume that the situation must have been bad by the response it got.

Once they were all dismissed, Ryou walked solemnly back to the common room to leave his bag and distract himself with more homework. He laid on his stomach on the rug with his stuff spread out in front of him. Cairoshell soon joined him and found it amusing to lay on Ryou's back that rose and fell as he breathed. Nott had to leave on some business, assuring him that he wouldn't take very long. They planned to meet up again at their usual seats for dinner.

There were only two other students in the common room until the main door opened and a large crowd of people walked in. Ryou turned his head back to see a few of the Beauxbaton students being led in by three fifth-year girls. "And this is the Slytherin common room." One of them said. "It gets cold in here in the winter at times, but really cool in the summer."

"It eez cold." One of the other girls agreed. They all gazed around the room, unimpressed and clearly wanting to continue on their tour. To appear polite, though, they strolled around, looking at this and that, moving closer to where Ryou was.

_Maybe I should go to my room..._Ryou didn't want to deal with any tour or playing host and attempted to get up. Cairoshell, however, meowed loudly, telling him to stay still and let him rest.

The sound brought all eyes on him and his cat. The girl closest to him gave a giddy smile upon seeing Cairoshell. "Oh! Such a lovely animal." She went down to inspect the cat closer. The other joined her and created a loose circle around him.

"Where is 'ee from?" Another girl asked.

Knowing he was stuck there now, Ryou replied kindly. "He came from Egypt as a gift from my father. His name is Cairoshell."

"Very ezotic."

Ryou had to smile at their curious accents as they emphasized certain sounds and rolled their 'r's. He moved enough to get Cairoshell to leap down before sitting up cross-legged.

With a closer look at him, some of the visitors recognized him. "You are ze farret boy from ze picture." One pointed out.

"Ah, yes yes." Another agreed. "The one Misses Turpin and Brocklehurst 'ad."

Ryou's smiled faltered at the names of the two Ravenclaw girls. And there was only one picture they could be talking about. "You mean the sketch?"

"The one wit eers." A few of them reached out to touch his hair, as if prodding for the furry ears.

"Ah! Your 'air eez so soft!" They exclaimed and, like they had been doing to Cairoshell, began petting him. "Eez beautiful 'air."

"...thank you." Ryou kept awkwardly still as the girls continued to fawn over him.

The oldest of them, a blonde girl of about 17 years, had held back and scolded those of her school. "Where arr your manners?" She frowned at them until they reluctantly pulled back and kneeled quietly. The girl nodded approvingly before apologizing. "Forgive us for such insolence, Monsieur. I am Fleur Delacour and my companions are Lorette, Adeline, Chantal, and Pierre. We come from Beauxbatons in France."

Keeping up with the polite talk, Ryou bowed his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Ryou Bakura." He felt the need to have a title and added, "Fourth year Slytherin."

"Fourth-year?" The girl, Chantal, explained. "Still so young!"

The other Slytherin girls, slightly jealous for being discarded so quickly, stepped into the circle. "Would you like to continue? We're going by the Ravenclaw house next."

"Of course." Fleaur said. She stood and the rest followed her lead. Ryou accompanied them to the door and held it open for them. The Beauxbatons girls giggled, then gave him a kiss on each cheek as they passed by, leaving the poor boy extremely flushed by the time they disappeared into the dungeons. The only boy with them, Pierre, simply smiled and shook his hand before following his classmates out.

Minutes before dinner, Ryou wondered around the castle, not trusting himself to stay awake by sitting by himself. The fear of closing his eyes for too long had left somewhat, and the boy found himself remembering certain segments without instantly blocking them away. The people, from both eras, looked like ordinary people. The monsters were the face-less men…_dressed like guards_. Ryou paused. There was a definite story to the dream and not random occurrences pieced together to scare him. The people, citizens most likely, were attacked and killed. _But why? Was it part of a war?_ From previous history classes, Ryou knew that in ancient civilizations, some prisoners of war were used as sacrifices for their gods.

_Stop thinking about it._

Ryou shivered at the cold tone. The spirit was angry but weary as well, like he also went through the day trying not to fall asleep and see that dream again. If that held some truth to it, then the spirit must have witnessed the dream and had been affected by it. Maybe half of it really was a part of his own nightmare.

_Stop fucking thinking about it!_

The sudden headache made Ryou flinch and hold onto the sides of his head. That response, though, proved that there was something the spirit didn't want to remember—

The pain intensified, forcing the boy to crouch down against the wall. _Please…stop…it hurts._

_I don't thinks so. You disobeyed, and now you're being punished for it._

_But it was your fault—_Ryou gritted his teeth as a stronger wave hit him. Colorful dots danced in his vision, obscuring everything. Unable to support himself, he let his body fall to the side and curl up on the floor. He was blacking out. Already he couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or not.

As quickly as the headache had come, it left, leaving not even an ache as proof of ever being there. With his vision returned, he was able to make out an arm and foot close to his face. His eyes followed the arm to a shoulder hiding behind bushy brown hair. Next he saw the face, frowning with worry and looking straight at him. "Granger?"

Hermione's lips raised slightly as she helped Ryou off the floor with her other two friends' help. "Bakura, are you alright?" She asked.

"Just a headache. Nothing to worry about; it's gone now." Ryou dusted off his robe and smiled.

"No simple headache would leave you like that." Harry said. He looked closer at the white-haired boy, briefly shifting his gaze to Ryou's forehead.

"I'm fine, really." Ryou insisted. He stood up straight and smiled broadly to prove his point.

The three Gryffindors looked at each other, unsure about how to handle the situation. Ryou did look fine–now anyhow. It had scared them when they saw the poor boy withering in agony on the floor.

Hermione was the first to accept Ryou's attitude towards the subject and nodded slowly. "If you're feeling fine…but if I see it happen again, I'll get the nurse."

Ryou decide not to argue with her. "I doubt it will happen again." He said, directing his though mostly at the spirit. "We should go eat now, we shouldn't miss the assembly. Or ceremony, if that's what it's called." He waited until the others agreed to walk towards the dinner and leave the subject behind.

By now, Ryou was tired of it all and for the first time since he learned about the existence of magic, regretted knowing at all. Coming here was a mistake. Succumbing to the spirit's commands was a mistake. He was a mistake. Ryou swallowed the lump that was starting to form in his throat. He couldn't afford to thinks about such depressing things. No, he wouldn't think about the dream or its meaning, at least, not now. At the moment, he needed to start developing a plan to leave the school he was becoming a threat to. Maybe even find a way to get rid of the spirit.

_Good luck with that._

But of course, he needed to find a way to block his thought from Bakura most of all.

The tables were full by the time the four fourth years entered the great hall. The professors were all seated along with the three headmasters. At the doorway, Ryou turned to the other three. "Thank you for helping me. Again."

"It was nothing, Bakura." Hermione smiled. "But we shouldn't meet only when you're in trouble."

Ryou chuckled lightly. "You're right. And, um, will you be going to Hagrid's anytime soon? I was planning to, but we can go together if you'd like."

"Well," Harry began, "with no Quidditch practices, I do have more time."

"Quidditch?" Ryou asked. "You mean that game on broomsticks?"

Ron's mouth gaped open. "Quidditch is not just a _game_. It's life!" He crossed his arms. "You've never gotten on a broom either, have you? You'll understand once you do. You know, I'm a great player myself, so I can teach you a few things."

"I don't know. The idea of sitting on a wooden stick while flying through the air doesn't really appeal to me"

"Rubbish." Ron continued. "You'll see. Once you're up there you'll feel it. Isn't that right Harry?"

The raven agreed. "It's amazing. As if you're completely free of everything."

"Then I guess I can give it a try." Ryou said, then waved at them as he walked to the Slytherin table. He scanned the students quickly until he found Nott besides an empty space. He sat there after greeting his friend. When he didn't get a response, he turned to him and realized that Nott had actually fallen asleep sitting up. Ryou sighed and tapped him on the shoulder. Nothing happened.

_I told you I still had power_.

Bakura's words echoed in his head. _No…you couldn't have…_With trembling fingers he reached up to grasp Nott's shoulder. "N-Nott?" He gave him a soft shake and still he did not move. In a panic, Ryou shook as hard as he could "Nott. Nott wake up!"

At the same time, Nott opened his eyes and threw his arms out in surprise for something to hold on to, nearly knocking down an empty cup. "What the—Bakura! Do you want me to have a heart attack?"

Ryou stared. Then stared some more. He didn't relax until it clicked in his head that the spirit had played a horrible joke on him_. How could I fall for that? I know he can't do anything right now._ "Sorry Nott."

"Don't be Bakura. But know that I will get you back for this. Just you wait." Thinking it had been some kind of prank, Nott began planning his own as he sent glares at the Slytherins around them that were laughing to themselves.

Dumbledore stood then, and the room became silent. "I am sure you are all anticipating the moment that the Goblet of Fire will decide who the champions will be. But before that, we should all enjoy a delicious dinner."

The food appeared, no longer a surprise, and every person filled their plates with a bit of everything. Ryou remembered well what Moody had said and ate as much as he could. He hardly waited for the food to be chewed before swallowing and biting into something else.

They were given a little less than an hour to eat. By the time Dumbledore stood again, Ryou was pass full, but still managed to fit in one last slice of pumpkin pie. Nott had watched him devour plate after plate. "And you still don't gain a pound, do you?"

"At times I do." Ryou said. "I just want to sleep well tonight."

Their attention went back to the headmaster as he spoke again. "As traditions go, we will now have our brave champions called forth to face this challenge." Eyes darted to the cup in the center of the room, lit and burning. Dumbledore moved before it, just in time to pick the small paper that shot out of the flames. "The first champion, from Durmstrang," he announced, "Victor Krum!" There was loud cheering from the end of the Slytherin table as the large teen made his way to the back and through a door.

Another paper flew out for the headmaster to read. "From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!" More cheering as this time, the girl Ryou recognized from the tour smiled and waved to her friends as she disappeared into the back room.

Now for the Gryffindor's chosen champion.

People all over the room held their breath as the last paper appeared. Dumbledore unfolded the small slip of paper and read it himself first. "And the representative from Hogwarts is, Cedric Diggory!"

The Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers, cries, and congratulations. Ryou had been one of them, and a few more followed suit until all of Hogwarts was united for a moment.

The last champion left them too and the night was about to be wrapped up when the Goblet of Fire lit up again, releasing another name. Ryou frowned in puzzlement. "I thought there were only three champions."

Nott responded without moving his eyes from the goblet. "There are."

Dumbledore kept a blank face as he caught the paper and read one more name out loud. "Harry Potter."

_Potter?_ Ryou's surprise was the same as everyone else's. _He's not even 17. How did he put his name in there? _Why_ did he put his name in there?_

He watched the dark-haired boy stand and move uncertainly to the door where the other three had gone through. He looked just as confused as the rest of them about the turn of events. The moment he was gone, the room irrupted onto chaos. Not only were the students talking and bickering, but so were a few of the teachers. Eventually, the professors dismissed them and sent them straight to their rooms.

In Ryou's room, both he and Nott were sitting on his bed besides Cairoshell. "Typical." Nott muttered. "Of course the _Chosen One_ would be chosen." He had the Egyptian cat on his lap while he leaned against the headboard. "Now he gets to be even more famous than he already is."

"But I don't think it was his fault." Ryou defended him. "He looked confused."

Nott waved the thought away. "An act. He's a show-off and can never seem to get enough attention."

Ryou couldn't agree. He had talked to Potter more than once and he never got the sense that he was arrogant or seeking attention. But there was something in Nott's words that perked his curiosity. "What did you mean by 'chosen one'?"

Nott raised an eyebrow? "You haven't heard? Of course you haven't; you just barely found out you were a wizard. All he did, really, was survive the killing curse from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And he was a just a baby too, so it's not like he remembers what happened."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"The Dark Lord." Nott clarified, but in a softer voice. "The one who—"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The person didn't wait for a response and walked right in. Ryou recognized the girl as Pansy Perkinson, who was a part of Malfoy's group. "Bakura. Moody is waiting for you in the hall."

"He is?" Ryou gave Nott a questioning glance and received a shrug in response. Quickly, he hopped off the bed while Nott yawned and said he'd be going to his own bed to sleep.

Ryou met with his Defense teacher outside the common room. "You wanted to see me, Professor?" He tried thinking of reason why he would be called, or of anything he could have done wrong, but came up with nothing.

Moody was serious as he looked down at Ryou. "The headmaster wants to see you. Apparently, someone else had placed Mr. Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire the night you were out and about."

Ryou's eyes widened. Was he being accused? "But I—"

"Calm down boy." Moody grunted. "Dumbledore simply wants to know if you saw anyone else that night."

The boy shook his head. "only you."

Moody began leading him away. "That's what I thought."

The rest of the walk to the headmaster's office was uneventful and without a word being uttered. Ryou knew he couldn't get in trouble if he wasn't suspected of putting Harry's name in there…_They suspect me already though, for breaking into Snape's house. I _reek_ of suspicion. Why don't they just put security cameras? But then, that would only make my sneaking around that much harder._

Bakura became annoyed with his host's rambling. _Just keep yourself calm and don't blow this up. Play the innocent little wizard that you are and all will be well. _

Ryou would have accepted those words as encouragement except that there was a mocking and shrewd tone to them. There was also the fact that this was the spirit talking and everything he said and did was usually for his own benefit.

Ryou had only ever been inside Dumbledore's office twice before. Both visits were during the summer, when the old man had simply wanted to chat and learn more about the muggle world. They were great experiences, but now, it might not be so pleasant.

Up the stair case Moody and Ryou went until they arrived at a door. Moody knocked and waited for the invitation before opening the door and walking in. "I brought the boy." He announced and stepped aside for Ryou to move forward.

Ryou was faced with not only Dumbledore and Snape, but the two other headmasters from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The tall imposing figures were enough to intimidate the boy. Nervously, he went as close as he dared to the front of the desk where Dumbledore sat. Out of habit, he bowed to them all. It was the perfect sign of respect, but was ruined when Ryou miscalculated the distance in front of him and hit his forehead on the edge of the desk. He backed away quickly with tight lips and holding his head in his arms.

Dumbledore chuckled and motioned at the cushioned arm chair across the desk. "I can see that you have had a very long day, Mr. Bakura." He began. "And I apologize for calling you here, but this is important."

Ryou shook his head. "No, it's fine headmaster. I understand."

"Very well." Dumbledore said. "I trust Moody explained why you're here?"

"Yes sir." Ryou shifted uncomfortable, feeling as if he was being pointed out for doing something wrong. "After everyone had gone to sleep, I, uhh, went out to the kitchen and talked to the house elves. Then, one of them left to talk to you…" He glanced at Dumbledore quickly before staring at his hands again. "I left right away and that's when Professor Moody caught me. He was the only other person I saw before I went back to my room and fell asleep..." He let out a deep breath and looked up. "Sorry I couldn't help."

Igor Karkaroff leaned forward, narrow-eyed. "I hope you don't let all of you students stroll around in the middle of the night. Sneaking into the kitchen and asking for knives."

"I didn't mean it like that." Ryou blurted out. "I wanted to carve a few gifts, but I'll return it. I don't want to cause any problems." Both he and the spirit awaited an answer.

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I trust you." Ryou's heart sank at the genuine statement. "For safety precautions as well, I placed a few spells on it, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Then zat eez settled then?" Madame Olympe Maxime said. "And we still 'ave no clue as to who eez responsible."

Bakura grinned in triumph. _Now you can excuse yourself and sleep, little Yadonushi_.

Ryou sighed. "If you don't need me, may I…" He made a motion to stand up.

Snape stepped forward. "I'll escort Mr. Bakura in case he feels inclined for another night walk." Ryou swallowed. He liked Snape, but the professor could be scary at times.

"Yes, yes. Children need their sleep to be ready for another day of learning." Dumbledore smiled.

Once Ryou had bid them all a good night, he followed Snape out of the room, down the stairs, and into the hallway. Again, he had survived a meeting with these powerful wizards and kept the ancient spirit a secret.

_Makes you think twice about their power, doesn't it_. Bakura mused. _Like I said before, they believe they're completely safe in this castle, with their harmless students. I can't believe Voldemort is having so much trouble, I could have found a hundred way to destroy this place by now_.

_Voldemort?_ Ryou scrunched his brows at the unfamiliar name.

_Not important. Such a dried up thing like him won't live for much longer anyways. But then, desperation can make you do all kinds of things._

_Like it does to you?_

Bakura chuckled. _You're one to talk, Yadonushi. Remind me again, who is sneaking around for me, lying and cheating for me, out of desperation to keep his friends safe?_ He continued before Ryou could interrupt. _You might not be lying outwardly, but your actions, half-truths, and that false innocence you portray is close enough because Ra knows you can't keep a single lie going. People trust you, take you in as one of their allies. And hiding in the inside is safer than hiding out. _

Ryou couldn't respond to that. How could he when it was all true? He didn't even know what he wanted to happen other than having the spirit disappear off the face of the earth. He needed to call Yugi, to ask him what he should do.

_Don't worry Yadonushi. You'll see him again soon._

That didn't sound harmless at all.

"Bakura?"

Ryou stopped walking and realized that he had gone ahead, past the common room door that Snape was standing in front of. Had he really been so engulfed in the spirit's conversation? Possibly, since this was one of the only times he would be so talkative. "Sorry sir." He walked back and stepped through the open door.

Snape stopped him before he could finally escape to his bed. "The headmaster might have ignored your rule breaking, but I haven't. I want you in my classroom after classes end tomorrow for you punishment. Is that understood?"

Ryou nodded glumly. "Yes sir." Then he added "Sorry."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." Snape responded before leaving.

"Now he's mad at me." Ryou muttered to himself as he made his way to his room. All of the lights were off, but it wasn't a problem for Ryou seeing as he had his wand with him.

_Carve something for him._

_What?_ The comment had taken Ryou completely by surprise so that he managed to hit his leg on the corner of a low table. He winced but otherwise ignored it.

_Don't forget that we need ingredients that he has access to._

_And I will need his trust to get to them._ Ryou finished for him_._ The spirit was becoming too predictable now with his plan; get close to people just so that he can stab them in the back without them knowing. _What should I carve, then?_

Bakura smiled. _A snake._

* * *

_**A/N: And there you have it. Expect another chapter in the summer since I'll be going into my final exams soon and I NEED to pass in order to keep my grades up. But don't fret 'cuz I'll have (hopefully) plenty of time to write once vacations starts. =3**_

_**And please review. I'll be selfish and say that I want tons of reviews so that my next chapter will be all fired up in my head and ready to be written once I have the time. Plus, it makes me happy ^^ and you all want a happy author, ne?**_


	11. The Eleventh

_**A/N: I'm back with chapter 11. Enjoy =)**_

_**Beta'd by: *cue drumming* DemonKittyAngel**_

_**Disclaimer: The fact that this is fanfiction kinda proves that I don't own anything; I'm just a fan**_

* * *

Ever since the first of his friends had been turned into dolls what seemed so long ago, Ryou had stayed away from the game room, not willing to carve in the least. Now that he had to, he wasn't sure if he could still hold the knife correctly. But once he was seated as comfortably as he could be on the cold, hard floor, his skill began to resurface. Even as he held the small piece of wood in his hand, he could visualize the figure it would become. He placed the edge of the knife against the wood and chipped off a small piece.

_You are never going to finish at the speed you're going._

_I haven't done this in a while_. Ryou responded to the voice in his head. _I need to finish at least this small one correctly before I get started on the bigger one_. Concentrating, Ryou cut away a few more sections until he had a rough, potato-shaped lump.

He was hiding in the dungeons in the small cave he decided to call the Shadow Room. He figured he could only sneak away for a few hours right before dinner on some days seeing as he had to attend his 'detention' with Snape directly after classes. It wasn't a real punishment - simply arranging the classroom or helping the professor with his potions like he had been doing over the summer. It was only for a week and three days had already gone by. But balancing that with his classes, homework, and now carving without being caught were starting to take their toll on the boy.

After about forty-five minutes, Ryou put down his materials and stood. _I can't spend any more time here or Nott will start to wonder where I am._

Bakrua scoffed. _You don't need to explain it to me. You can leave, but you're coming back here tonight._

Ryou stretched then left the room after putting out the small fire he created with magic. It didn't spread, only stayed within it's ring of stones. He had turned back to see the shadows create the wall, blocking the only entry. As far as he knew, shadow magic was stronger than wizard's magic. Being open to it now, Ryou could feel traces of magic in most places in the castle. It was a sense so common placed that he was beginning to forget about it, similar to not paying attention to every breath he took. But here, there was not a trace of it because Bakura's magic had devoured it all, eaten it and had gotten stronger. That was scary. But he also knew, or was fairly sure of, potions being able to affect him despite the dark magic's protection.

_So what? Are you going to poison yourself now?_

_ No_. Ryou frowned. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his next thought from being heard. _But I can poison your new body._

_It'll be made out of wood. There will be nothing to poison._

_ I think I preferred it when you didn't talk to me._

_ And I preferred it when you followed my orders without all of this protest and whining. _

Ryou took out the ring to lead him back o the hallway. _They're my thoughts, and I can't stop them. You're the one listening to them._

_Well, I can't have you plotting something dangerous, now can I?_

Ryou decided to give his attention to the ring now, and watched the golden dangle fall and another rise every time he needed to change direction. The spirit was being way too talkative these days. And he had been that way ever since that dream...

He winced at the first pang of a headache. This also happened every time his thoughts drifted to that. Whatever connection it was Bakura didn't want him to make, the spirit was determined to keep it a secret. But how can he not be curious, especially when Bakura was so defensive about it?

_I'll stop. I'll stop. _Ryou was holding his head now and forcing his thoughts to go elsewhere.

Once out of the maze, the ring was hidden and Ryou made his way to the Great Hall, the pain in his head slowly ebbing away.

"Hey, Bakura!" Nott waved to him while trying to listen to Malfoy talk across from him. He scooted to his left to allow some space for Ryou to take a seat. "Where have you been?"

"I was just working on something." Ryou answered vaguely.

"Oh? What kind of 'something'?"

"Nothing important really."

If it had been only Nott there, the subject would have been dropped and another picked up, but Malfoy was with them, listening in to their conversation. "If it's not important, why keep it a secret?"

"Well..." They were both looking at the smaller boy expectantly. "I like being by myself sometimes."

Malfoy quirked an eyebrow. "I see." He then turned to reach into his bag, forgetting about Ryou's secret quickly. He pulled out a circular object and held it out to them. "Both of you are smart with spells and such, so I need you to enchant this."

Ryou took the metal disk and turned it around. "A blank button?"

Malfoy couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. "It won't be blank for long." He pulled out two papers with different sayings on them. The first was designed with the words 'Potter Stinks' while the other had nicer writing with the words 'Support Cedric Diggory, the _real_ Hogwarts Champion'.

Ryou frowned at them. "I can't make them."

"Why not?" Malfoy rounded at him. "Because he's your _friend_? Didn't I tell you before that Gryffindors and Slytherins don't associate with each other?"

"It's not that." Ryou said, doing his best to avoid arguing about something Malfoy obviously abhorred. "They're both from Hogwarts, so we should be supporting the two of them."

Malfoy didn't look the least bit pleased with Ryou's suggestion. "Hogwarts only needs one champion, not a lying, cheating Gryffindor who thinks he's better than everyone else here."

"Oh, can it Malfoy." Nott interrupted as he snatched the button and papers to look at for himself. "We all know you just hate Potter. But, I think I can make these. Can't have Potter bask in glory all of the time."

Ryou turned his disapproving expression to his friend. "Nott."

"I'm not doing this for free, Bakura. So Malfoy," Nott grinned slyly at the blond. "What do you have to offer?"

Malfoy leaned in closer to speak quietly. "I happen to have a few extra Firebolts—"

"I don't fly."

"Then how about a few spells my father told me about?"

"I can probably find them in a book somewhere."

"Then what do you want?" Malfoy sighed angrily.

Nott rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. Bakura, what would you want?"

"Me?" Ryou looked at him. "I don't want any part in this."

"All I'm asking is for some...friendly suggestions. I'll be the one making these." Not nudged at him with his elbow. When Ryou shook his dead defiantly, Nott shrugged. "Fine. Malfoy will just owe me a favor." He pocketed the button and folded the papers to slip away into his robe.

"Agreed." The blond said. "I'll need some by tomorrow; we have double potions with the Gryffindors and I want Potter to see them clearly." With that, Malfoy stood and left to sit besides Crabbe and Goyle a few tables down.

"Are you really going to make them?" Ryou asked.

"I don't see why not. Come on Bakura, you can't really be friends with them."

Ryou didn't know if he could call them friends. They have only spoken a few times, but they were kind to him, regardless of what house he was in. "They're nice to me." He muttered, keeping his gaze on his lap.

Nott shook his head. "Whatever you say. And you could have at least asked Malfoy to leave you alone in return for the buttons." He paused for a second, looking at Ryou's lowered head. "So, what are you doing after dinner?"

"Take Cairoshell for a walk. I think he's mad at me for not paying him much attention lately."

"I'll go with you then." They both grinned at each other then, knowing that getting the princely cat to be on good terms with them wouldn't be so easy.

Dinner went by quickly and the two Slytherins almost jogged to the common room to pick up Cairoshell in order to have enough time to walk around before they were expected to be in bed. The Egyptian cat refused to move from the high wardrobe until Ryou practically begged for forgiveness. Cairoshell then leaped down and walked away with his head held high, expecting Ryou and Nott to follow behind like servants.

The group moved slowly, enjoying the calm air in the corridors. They talked about spells they were learning and the potion they would be making the next day. It was friendly talk, not going too deep into the other's life. They knew there was a boundary, and like Nott knew not to ask too much about Ryou beyond school life, Ryou had the same sense about him.

All Ryou had learned about Nott's personal life was that he was an only child living with his parents. Nott had clever ways to change and avoid specific subjects or questions. They weren't close enough to have complete trust in each other, but neither of them were rushing. A strong bond takes time to build, and both boys were patient enough to give it the opportunity to grow.

When they returned to the common room, they went their separate ways although Ryou was sure Nott would stay up a while longer working on those buttons. Ryou could only hope that Harry was a strong enough person to ignore it.

By morning, Nott had done the impossible and mass-produced hundreds of buttons that were being passed out by a grinning Draco Malfoy. Ryou made sure to sneak away before he was offered one. He really wanted to tell Harry, simply to give him a heads up about the buttons. But he didn't find him at breakfast, being the early bird that he was. He did, though, see Ron a few minutes later and managed to catch up to him as the redhead was leaving. "Um, Weasley." He called, feeling awkward with the name. It was almost like referring to Ron as a weasel.

Ron looked up at the sound of his name. His expression was indifferent, but certainly not at all happy. "What?"

Ryou cringed at the harsh word. "I was just wondering if you know where Potter is."

"Do I look like his mother to you?"

"N-no." Ryou was beyond confused at Ron's attitude. Sure, he wasn't so open the first time they met, but he seemed to have gotten used to the fact that he was a Slytherin. "Ano...can you, give him a message for me?"

"Can't you do that yourself? He'll be down to breakfast in a few minutes." He had his arms crossed and Ryou knew that something was wrong.

Ryou studied him, trying to name the emotion Ron was emitting. "Are you...mad at Potter?" When he saw Ron's frown deepen, he quickly backed away from the subject. "Sorry. Forget that I asked, it's really none of my business. I'll go look for him now." With that, Ryou excused himself to return to breakfast, still not spotting the raven.

_I probably missed him already. _He thought to himself. _I can always tell him before class, unless he sees them first._

He seated himself at the end of his row just as the flock of owls burst into the room. Ryou never received anything so didn't bother to look up. He understood his father was too busy with his work to write to him often. No one else knew about him being a wizard and so wasn't expecting anything from anyone but his father.

Instead of watching the regular occurrence, he piled different foods onto his plate to eat. He was taking his first bite when a thin, small package fell before him. Automatically, he looked up just in time to see a dark brown owl flying overhead turn and leave with the rest. He didn't recognize it and seeing no one reach to take the deliver, figured it was for him.

Excited, Ryou grabbed it and read his name on the back of the thick envelope. He recognized his father's hand writing and quickly tore it open to reveal a second envelope and a short note. He read the note first, which was written on material similar to papyrus paper.

_Hello Ryou._

_ I hope this letter finds you well and on the way to becoming a great wizard. Work is busy here, but that shouldn't be an excuse for not writing to you. But I finally had the chance when I received a letter from Japan. A friend of yours managed to track me down to ask about your whereabouts seeing as how you suddenly disappeared that summer. I replied to them, saying you were attending a boarding school in England, which I hope you are fine with. I also agreed to relay his letters to you and, if you decide to reply, send yours to him. I know it can be hard to lie about magic so if you choose not to, I can tell him for you._

_ I know you are a good son and are doing well on you studies. But if you need any help, talk to Uncle Severus if you can't tell me. He is an intelligent man, if a bit strict. Take care of yourself._

_Your father, Alden Bakura_

Ryou didn't have time to chuckle at 'Uncle Severus' for he was too busy tearing the second envelope open. He didn't dare hope too much on who the sender was. It was impossible to imagine that someone would track his father down to contact him.

He unfolded the white sheet displaying the familiar Japanese characters. I felt strange holding regular paper and not parchment rolled up in a scroll. He was happy, though, to read the language from the time his life was more or less normal. He read it slowly, taking in every word.

_Hi Bakura._

_ It's Yugi, all the way from Japan. I heard from your dad that you're going to a boarding school in England and was kind enough to mail this letter to you._

_ But you had us worried when you suddenly vanished. We went to you apartment a few times but you never answered. Then we asked at school and they said you had transferred. We thought something bad might have happened because you left without saying anything._

_ My grandpa helped us find you dad, but it took almost a month for a reply. He assured us you were fine and would return for the summer once school was over. Still, that's a long time away._

_ Please write back when you can and if you notice anything strange, tell me right away. Don't worry about it though. Do well at your new school and make lots of new friends. I hope to hear from you soon._

_Yugi Moto_

_P.S. Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda say "Hi"._

Overwhelmed, Ryou read the letter three more times to make sure it stayed in his mind. He couldn't believe that he was actually hearing from Yugi. And apparently, Bakura couldn't believe it either.

_Shit. He found us._ He growled to himself in anger. _But he isn't sure if I'm with you; I want to keep it that way._

Ryou already knew that; why else would Yugi ask if anything strange was happening? He must have noticed the ring missing, connected that with his own disappearance, and concluded the spirit's return. Not that he was wrong.

_Yadonushi, you know what to do, right?_

Ryou let out a tired breath. _Write back to him to assure him that everything is just perfect here. Normal school, normal friends, normal life with no mention of the millennium items._ He finished acidly.

_Good, you deserve a treat so I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day. But if you do something stupid..._

Ryou nodded to show he understood, but in no way did he enjoy being treated like a dog.

"Hey Bakura. What do you have there?" Nott strolled over and took his seat before beginning to eat. He peered over to look at the strange writing.

Quickly, Ryou forgot about the spirit to talk to his friend. "It's a letter from a friend."

"And you can read that?" Nott squinted at the neat columns of characters, unable to decipher a single word.

"I'm fluent in both English and Japanese; I was living in Japan before coming here."

"Really?" Nott took a bite from his scrambled eggs, studying the letter for a while longer. "Is he a muggle?"

Brown eyes looked down at the paper. "Yes, he is. He thinks I'm staying at a regular English school."

"So you'll have to lie to him, huh?"

They ate silently for a while, taking only when they needed a plate passed down. Once they were fed and moving out of the crowded room did Ryou look up at Nott. "You're not wearing a button." He pointed out.

Nott looked down at his robe, following Ryou's eyes. "I decided not to at the last minute. It didn't really match my eyes." They both laughed. "No one else is wearing them either, not until potions at least. Malfoy wants it to be a big surprise."

"But why?" Ryou asked. "Why don't the Slytherins like him? It seems a bit unfair."

"It's not just him, it's the whole Gryffindor lot we don't like. Don't you see the way they carry themselves, acting like the superior house and yapping away about courage and what they think is right. They see us as nothing but monsters waiting to be released into the world. They think we will all follow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and become Death Eaters or something." Nott gave the other a side-ways glance. "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

Ryou let out a quiet chuckle. "Not the least bit, about the monsters and Death Eaters. And you never explained who the unnamed person is."

"You don't need to know about that stuff."Nott sighed. "It's all a part of the past, so it's not really important."

_Or it's more like you don't want to talk about it_. Ryo figured it was his turn to comfort his friend by changing conversation. He smiled. "Nott, what are your favorite colors?"

Nott stared. "That came out of nowhere. Well... I do like red, and blue, and maybe green. Why do you ask?"

Ryou tried his best to hide his growing smile. "No reason. Just for something I'm thinking about."

"Hmm, and does it have anything to do with the 'something' you were working on before?" This time, Nott wiggled his eyebrows implying that he already knew the answer.

"Maybe."

"You're making me a Christmas present, aren't you?"

Ryou's mouth fell open. "How did you guess?"

Nott grinned triumphantly, showing his straight white teeth. "I'm a smart person, if you didn't already know. But now," he crossed his arms, thinking to himself, "what do I get you?"

"You don't have to." Ryou said quickly, shaking his hands in front of him.

"Of course I do." The brunet elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "We're friends, right? And friends give each other gifts. Or is that different in the muggle world?"

"I guess it's the same." Ryou gave up. He was going to receive a gift and it made his heart flutter with happiness. When was the last time he received a gift from a friend? He couldn't recall, but he was happy. "Thank you, Nott."

Nott smiled back. "Thank me on Christmas. You'll be here, right? With the ball and all, I decided to just stay here instead of missing it, even though I don't really dance."

"I'm staying. But with the ball..." Ryou wasn't sure how he felt about it. McGonagall had explained it briefly before school started when he asked about the fancy outfit he had bought. Large parties didn't really appeal to him, and he couldn't imagine asking a girl to dance with him. He'd stutter terribly, then run away before he had a chance to embarrass himself. "Maybe I'll sit on the side and watch."

"Nonsense Bakura. There's a bunch of girls that want to go with you, I'm sure. Apparently, many of them prefer 'cute' to 'gorgeously handsome'."

"Really?" He drifted into that thought before realizing he was already being categorized by the girls. He blushed. "W-well...if I go, then you have to go too. With a d-date."

Nott clapped his hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Deal."

~/~/~/~/~

Ryou never did see Harry throughout the morning. It wasn't until he and Nott were making their way to Snape's classroom that the raven appeared. He was walking with Hermione and only a few turns away from meeting with the Slytherins. "I'll be right back." Ryou told Nott before he jogged up to the Gryffindors.

"Potter, wait up." He reached them as they were turning to him. "I need to tell you something."

"Oh, hi Bakura." Hermione greeted.

Ryou took some time to properly greet them both before jumping in to the main topic before they were seen. "Potter, the Slytherins are all wearing pins with some rather rude things, but I wanted to warn you so that you wouldn't get too mad. So don't let it get to you, just ignore them and I'm sure they won't bother you as much. I'm sorry for this though, I really couldn't stop them." He took a deep breath and looked around. It was still only Nott a few steps away from them; no sign of anyone else.

"Wait a minute." Harry said. "What pins are you talking about?"

Ryou took a deep breath to explain all over when he spotted a familiar blond turning around the corner. "Those pins." He muttered upon seeing the glowing green words on Malfoy's button. He glanced quickly at Harry's reaction. The Gryffindor took a moment to read the sentence and keeping his face indifferent.

Malfoy, followed by quite a few of the Slytherins, walked over to them, flashing their newest accessory. The blond was grinning, pausing when his eyes fell on Ryou. "Bakura, what's going on here?"

"Nothing at all." Nott muttered. He rushed in, grabbed Ryou by the arm, and pulled him away. "Just passing through to get to potions." He turned to his friend and spoke softly and fast. "Come on, let's get out of here before it turns ugly."

Even as they were walking away, Ryou could hear the beginnings of a taunt and possibly, a fight. "What if they start a dual?"

"Then we were smart enough to be far away from it."

Ryou shook his head and resisted being taken along. "We have to stop them. They could get in trouble, or get hurt."

Nott stared at him, telling him with his eyes that their best option would be to ignore it and stay out of it. Again, Ryou shook his head. "Bakura, remember what happened last time you got involved. You grew ferret ears and a tail; it could be worse this time."

"But Moody's not here..." Which could be a bad thing since there was no other professor to stop the fight. "I'll just try to talk them out of it."

Releasing Ryou, Nott put his hands on his hips and sighed. "It's your neck, Bakura." He sighed again. "Fine, let's go back."

They retraced their steps to the sight of Harry and Malfoy pulling out their wands. "No, stop!" He ran the last few steps and was nearly standing between the two boys. _This feels like deja vu. _

"Don't interfere again, Bakura." Malfoy glared at him. "If Potter wants a duel, then I'll give it to him."

"This is just like last time!" Ryou tried to tell him. "You'll get in trouble again." He glanced at Harry. "You both will."

Harry looked like he wanted to put his wand down, but wouldn't risk it until Malfoy had done so as well. Malfoy too, wouldn't lower his arm for the same reason. They had trapped themselves. The whole crowd was silent, waiting to see what would become of the situation. From an unknown source, there was the sudden cry of "just hit him already!" To which Malfoy obeyed. He began lifting his arm for a spell and Harry followed the action.

Faster than both, Ryou moved without thinking. He pulled out his wand as he recited a spell. "Accio wands!" Both Harry's and Malfoy's wands were ripped out of their hands and flew into Ryou's opened one. He caught them and drew them close into his chest as he backed away.

Malfoy stared at his empty palm, registering what had just happened. He glared at Ryou. "Bakura." He said in a warning tone.

Ryou was saved from having to explain as Snape had walked into the crowd of kids. Ryou hid the wands behind his back and faced the potions professor. "What is going on here?" Snape asked at no one in particular.

"Nothing, Professor Snape." Ryou said.

He regretted speaking up for it drew the man's attention to him. It would have been better to let the matter fade on its own without standing out. Snape looked him over. "What are you hiding?" His tone demanded an answer and Ryou was now obliged to give it.

Knowing a lie wasn't the best option with this particular person, he drew out his hand to show him the two wands. "These are Potter's and Malfoy's wands. Sir." He added the last word in hopes that it would help better the situation.

"Then you should return them and not waste everyone's time with these games." He looked over every student, giving them the same message, then left to return to the potions room.

Ryou swallowed the lump in his throat, watching the professor leave them. He walked over to Harry and let him pick out his wand. The raven gave him a curt nod and moved passed him with Hermione.

When he went to give Malfoy's wand back, it was snatched back. Cold eyes bore into his until Ryou turned his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry." He whispered, unsure of what he was apologizing for. Maybe it would lessen the tension between them.

"Just stay out of my way, Bakura."

Yes, that was as good a start as any.

"Hai." Ryou all but muttered. He followed the dwindling crowd into the classroom and took his seat in the last row along with Nott. His friend shrugged and took out his quill and parchment. There really was no point in worrying about it for the moment, Nott had implied. Ryou returned the gesture and glanced at Malfoy. The blond had looked at him at the same time but quickly turned away, frowning, when he was caught. Releasing a quiet breath, Ryou gave his attention to Snape as the lesson began.

Harry seemed to be having a hard time from what Ryou could see. He sat pretty much alone and his earlier thought that Ron was mad at him was being proven right. Those buttons weren't helping as many of the students would press them, which changed the massage to 'Potter Stinks', whenever they felt Harry looking their way.

Partway through the lesson, there was in interruption caused by a knock on the door. A young boy, probably a two or three years younger than Ryou, walked in and up to Snape. Being in the very back, Ryou couldn't hear the conversation between them, but could tell that it didn't please the professor. Looking quite irritated, Snape excused Harry who stood to follow the smaller boy.

Besides him, Nott grunted. "He's probably going to do some special champion work while we have to stay here."

"But you like potions." Ryou whispered.

"True. Still, it would be nice to have a break."

"Is there a problem?" Snape had heard their whispers and was giving the two boys a warning look.

"No professor." Nott called back. "Just going over the ingredients for the antidote we're making." He smiled broadly as the professor finally went back to his lesson.

Nothing significant happened for the rest of the class. Everyone worked on their independent assignment, some more efficient that others. Close to the end, a student was picked to try the antidote, one called Neville Longbottom. Ryou remembered hearing that name before, from Malfoy. What was it he said about the Gryffindor? Ryou couldn't recall the exact words, but they weren't very pleasant. He watched silently as the slightly chubby boy drank a spoonful of it. He felt his throat tighten by just observing and praying that nothing bad would happen. Neville swallowed nervously. A few seconds passed as everyone in the room waited for something to happen. Just when the boy was beginning to relax, he hiccuped. He did it again, louder this time. On the third time, it didn't stop. He kept at it in a long chain of hiccups that sounded high and shrill.

He had a hand to his throat while pleading to the professor to make it stop. Snape frowned. "You added the wrong amount of spider eggs." Without another glance at him, he waved him away while he addressed the rest of the class. "I want you all to read the next lesson ahead of time and come with a new list of ingredients prepared for the poison it describes. You are dismissed." Everyone began packing their things ignoring the hiccups that continued to resound through the room.

Outside, Ryou said goodbye to Nott as he left to a transfiguration lesson with the Slytherin and Ravenclaw third years. He was used to being mixed with younger students as they were with him. None of them talked much, except when one of the other years would bravely ask for help or have something explained.

When Ryou had returned to the Potions room for his detention, he found Snape stacking a few books onto one of the desks. "Grab the other three from the left bookcase, third shelf." He ordered without glancing up. Ryou did as he was told and set the three, dusty thick books beside the others Snape had.

There was a total of seven books, all ranging in sizes and context. "You were late in arriving to this school, and so missed much of the work we have discussed the last three years. Therefore, I want you to study these books in depth and complete at least twenty of the potions in any of them before the end of the year."

Ryou stared wide-eyed at the impending volumes. "I have to read all of these?"

"You may begin now; I have nothing else for you to do for the remainder of you detention."

"But, I already have a lot of other work to do, from other classes. They all want me to catch up too." Ryou tried to protest. "Isn't that why I'm taking the extra lessons?"

"These books are my personal copies." Snape began to explain. "They have notes and such written in them and can serve as a substitute to an actual lesson. If you learn from these, you can be exempt from extra potions classes."

With a closer inspection, Ryou saw most of the books labeled 'Severus Snape' on the bottom right corner of the covers. He picked one up and, sure enough, saw the small curvy handwriting on the pages. "And I can take them with me?"

"I expect them back before you leave for the summer." He watched Ryou look through all of them, flipping through some and reading the introduction from others. He knew he was asking a lot from the boy, but when did he do otherwise from his students? Ryou was intelligent with a talent for potions and as the head of Slytherin, it was his job guide and provide for the young Slytherins. If piling work and assignments would force them to prosper, then so be it. He'd never admit it, but Snape saw _some_ promise in the white-haired boy and he was prepared to give him as much 'help' as he could offer. "And I hope you didn't forget about the books you borrowed before you arrived?"

"No sir." Ryou had already read the three he brought from Snape's house. He reminded himself to return them the next morning.

"One more thing." Snape reached into a pocket inside his robe and pulled out a small, dark blue pouch. He let it fall with a clank on top the desk. "From your father."

Ryou picked it up and pried it open without much difficulty. He reached in and pulled out a handful of wizard coins. "Money? But why..." He looked at Snape for an answer.

"You have heard of Hogsmeade, I'm sure." It wasn't a question. "All those in the third year and above may visit the village with a signed consent from a parent or guardian. Mr. Bakura has already been sent the papers, and we have received them along with that. The trip will be coming up soon."

"Thank you." Ryou held the pouch close. Then, as an afterthought not actually meant to be said out loud, he added, "you really are like my Uncle Severus." Upon seeing Snape's blank and dangerous face, he dropped the small smile he had, took a seat, and began reading the first book.

Snape felt his eye twitch. Leave it to fate to send him Alden Bakura's son.

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_**A/N: **__**Summer's here! Yay! But saddly, I do have homework and chores to do so it's not like I can spend all day writing (meaning, don't expect a new chapter every week. They'll all be sporadic but hopefully long) Thanks for the reviews, they make fell all bubbly inside X3**_

_****__**Also, please visit my profile for a link to a drawing I made (or attempted, in any case) of Ryou and Cairoshell. Hopefully, there will be one uploaded of the infamous sketch of Ryou with ferret ears soon. Thanks and don't forget to review!**_


	12. The Twelfth

**_Disclaimer: Yugioh belongs to Takahashi Kazuki and Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Since I am neither of those (amazing) people, well, I own none of what they have already have already created. Yea...long disclaimer._**

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With only one more session left of Snape's detention, Ryou had a set plan in mind. Actually, it was Bakura's plan, but he was the one playing it out. Ryou had one month to complete the spirit's spell for he didn't dare risk the consequences if he didn't finish. It was true that he needed to carve the body before the concocting the potion, but that didn't excuse him from beginning as soon as possible.

On the list, Ryou counted thirteen items, not including his own blood that needed to be sacrificed nor the resurrected one's personal item, which would be the millennium ring. The ingredients included mandrake root, a dragon scale, unicorn blood, an ounce of antimony, silverweed, a jobberknoll feather, dittany, sopophorous beans, dandelion root, lobalug venom, honeywater, woormwood, and rose thorns. Half of the things he has never even heard of, but he knew where to get at least two of them.

Bakura, as a thief, was required to be quite cunning and intelligent. His mind constantly plotted to achieve what he wanted and turn any situation to his advantage. Yes, Snape's extra work would interfere with Ryou's time, but it could also be beneficial. One of the first things the spirit had demanded of Ryou once they were in the room was to match the ingredients from the Soul Transfer potion to any other one mentioned in the book. Because Ryou was expected to create twenty of them, Snape would have to supply whatever he needed or at least tell them where to find such items. The first potion that came up in the first book was the Draught of Living Death which used both woormwood and sopophorous beans. That was the one Ryou would make first.

Nervous, Ryou entered the professor's office with one of the books he borrowed under his arm. "Good evening, Professor Snape." He greeted with a smile.

Snape looked up from his papers briefly before turning down to them again as he spoke. "You may continue on your studies while you're here."

Ryou looked at his regular seat. He was about to take it and simply forget about asking anything. Snape was intimidating and asking him anything proved to be a challenge. But Ryou swallowed and walked over to his potions teacher. He opened to book to the bookmarked page and placed it before the man. "I found the potion I want to make." He said.

Snape glanced at the pages then leaned back in his chair. "The Draught of Living Death? That potion is usually made by sixth years; why begin with this one?"

Ryou had been prepared for his question, although the level difficulty had been much higher than any potion he has prepared before. "I already read through the instructions carefully, and most of the steps described are ones I have done before at other times."

"I can see that. What I asked was why, exactly."

_Why? Because the spirit told me to._ Ryou shuffled his feet as he stared at the desk the book laid on. He offered a small shrug. "It looks interesting, compared to the others I have read about so far."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And you believe you can accomplish such a potion with only months of experience?"

Ryou nodded, doing his best to appear confident and able. _I haven't failed yet, with any potion. I simply follow the instructions and the extra notes_. "If you don't mind..."

With a weary glance, Snape stood and walked to a cupboard. He waved his student over and stepped to the side. "Take what you need." The professor watched Ryou look over the page in his book and take the necessary ingredients silently, never noticing that he took extra from a few of the jars.

~/~/~/~/~

The trip to Hogsmeade was three days before the first task and Ryou was excited. With Nott's help, he had been able to count the money his father had sent him and discovered that it was quite a bit, enough for multiple trips. His father was never rich, but he always sent Ryou more than enough money to live comfortable back in Japan. _I didn't know he also had wizard money._ Ryou mused as he inspected the different coins on his bed. Nott had left to gather his own before they left that morning. _Then that means he is still somewhat connected to the magical world. Or did he keep it as back up for something._ With a lighthearted sigh, Ryou put the coins back into the pouch.

"That's quite a fortune you have there." Malfoy commented, watching Ryou from his own bed. "Your father's?"

Ryou nodded. "I think it's supposed to last for the rest of the year though. So really, it isn't _that_ much." After he finished tying up the golden thread and sealing the pouch, he sat up to look at Malfoy. "Does your father send you money too?"

"Whenever I ask for it." Malfoy said with a smirk. Ryou continued watching as Malfoy picked up his precious pin and carefully placed it on his chest. The blond smirked again after noticing the staring. "So, Bakura. What will you be doing?"

"Nott said he would show me around."

"Really? Then why not go as a group, you and Nott, and Crabbe, Goyle, and I. I still haven't properly thanked Nott for these." Malfoy fingered the button that currently supported Cedric. "You care for one?"

"No, thank you." Ryou hopped off and gathered his thickest cloak, pouch, and wand, which he slipped into his pocket. "But Malfoy, you don't have to come with us, you should enjoy yourself, doing what you'd like."

"Don't worry about me, Bakura, I'll enjoy myself plenty."

Ryou grimaced to himself. He had been hoping to have a calm day with his friend and maybe hunt for more of the spirit's ingredients. Ryou knew Nott wouldn't think too much of it, but Malfoy will certainly push his nose into it. "Ok."

It was snowing outside, and a thick layer of snow had already covered the ground. The five Slytherin boys were rubbing their hands together for warmth while they waited for the rest of the students to step out. Ryou let his eyes wonder about the growing group, sighting multiple buttons from different houses. He also saw Ron with his siblings, and Hermione too off on her own, but no Harry. _I would have stayed inside too_. Ryou thought, if a bit sadly.

Malfoy complained a bit about the lagging students before they were allowed to leave to the town. Nott walked close to Ryou to speak quietly. "Do you want to lose them?" He whispered, indicating to the trio laughing slightly behind them.

"Wouldn't that be rude?" But secretly, Ryou would not have minded turning around a corner and disappearing from sight.

Nott glanced back to see Malfoy kick the snow in annoyance. "Then you had better prepare yourself. As soon as he gets the chance, he'll humiliate Potter, Weasley, Granger, and anyone involved with them. Then someone will get angry and a fight will begin."

"You seem to have the pattern figured out."

"You would too if you've seen it for three years."

Ryou smiled at his friend's mild misfortune. He remembered then, the small figurine he was almost finished with. The basic outline was done and all that was left were the details and color. Before he could forget, he asked Nott where he could buy paint.

"Paint?" Nott thought, recalling what shops there were in Hogsmeade. "For paint...maybe Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop? They sell parchment, quills, ink and the such, so they might have paint and brushes. But what for?"

"For 'something'." Ryou answered vaguely.

Nott caught on quickly. "Ooh. _That_ 'something'. How's it turning out?"

"How's what turning out?" Malfoy's pale face appeared next to Ryou's, momentarily intrigued by the conversation.

"Sorry Malfoy," The raven said, "but this is between Bakura and I."

"I'll make one for you too." The youngest said.

With a playful frown, Nott nudged him. "Him too? And here I thought I was the special friend."

"One what?" As the conversation continued to allude him, Malfoy became more irritated.

Nott turned to him. "One 'something'."

Ryou took pity on the blond and gave a small shrug. "It's a present."

Malfoy's forehead wrinkled in thought, then grinned. "Of course, with Christmas coming. I suppose this makes us friends." Ryou nodded slowly, unsure of where Malfoy was headed with his comment. Making friends was what he was the most cautions with; befriending someone was like giving the spirit another hostage. And he couldn't outright reject Malfoy, who was a danger himself. "And as friends, we tell each other secrets."

"You're not that close, Malfoy. Now, why don't we visit the quill shop first." Nott pushed Ryou away from the other Slytherins and marched them both into one of the first shops, not giving Ryou enough time to glance around.

They split up soon after while they strolled around what interested them the most. Ryou went to counter where an aging old woman had her face inside a book. "Excuse me." Ryou waited patiently until the woman, probably a witch, put her book down and looked up.

"What is it, deary?" Her grin exposed the gaping holes in her row of teeth, but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

"I was wondering, if you sell paint and brushes."

"Why, of course we do." She walked from behind the counter, moving briskly. "Follow me, deary."

Ryou did so and found himself surrounded by all kinds of colorful tubes, bowls, and brushes of all types and sizes. "Now, deary, over here is all of the colors we have. The ones on top change shades every so often, and the ones next to them give off a glitter. And over here," the witch switched to the opposite aisle "are the brushes. The most basic ones contain red, blue, and yellow and-"

"Sorry but, what do you by 'contain'?" Interrupted Ryou.

"That means, deary, that the brush already paints those colors without the use of paint. It isn't always permanent."

Ryou looked at the multiple shelves of brushes in delight._ I might not have to buy the paint._ "Which brushes paint with every color?"

"Ahh, that would be these." She pointed to a certain row. "But if you are also looking for quality..." she looked around until she found a certain one and passed it to Ryou. "Melaten's Brush For All Purposes. It can change to any shade at the painter's thought. The colors will never fade and with a a tap of a wand, can shrink or enlarge the bristles at the end. It never needs cleaning and will only paint what you want it to. Pricy, but it is the best."

Ryou took the brush and could clearly see its quality in the elegance of the wood and the soft, light hairs at the tip. If he bought this, he'd never have to worry about ever needing any supplies. "I'll take it." He said.

"Excellent choice, deary." She took the brush back and returned to the counter with the young customer behind her. She set it down on the wooden surface. "Ten galleons."

Ryou took out the pouch and set it opened in front of him. He fingered through the coins and pulled out as many of the gold pieces as he could find. Once he counted ten, he slid them before the witch and put the pouch away. "Ten galleons." He confirmed.

The witch counted them herself then looked up. "Thank you deary. I hope to see you again."

"Thank you." Ryou pocketed the brush with a smile while worrying about the huge amount he had just spent. But it was worth it._ I am probably set for life now. And I'll be able to finish faster too, so Nott's present can be completed by tonight even._

_Already forgetting, aren't you?_

_I haven't._ Ryou's hands tightened on his robe as he spoke to the spirit. _But I don't know if we'll even find any of the things we need here._

He felt a tap on his shoulder, startling him. Nott was standing close to him, a small bag in his hand. "Are you ok Bakura? You were staring off at nothing."

Ryou tried clearing his head with a slight shake. "It's nothing. Are you finished?"

Nott lifted his bag. "All done. Shall we continue with the tour?"

"What about Malfoy?"

"He said he was going to stay a while longer." With a suspicious grin, Nott led Ryou out into the street where they mingled with the rest of the students and wizards. They continued with their tour, pausing at a few other shops to peer at the curious trinkets they sold. Other than a few sweets, Ryou refrained from buying anything else in hopes of preserving the rest of his money.

The two boys were heading into the Three Broomsticks for a taste of butterbeer -although Ryou argued at first about being underage- when a pair of certain redheaded twins caught up with them. "Why, hello there, young Slytherins." They said in unison.

Ryou recognized them right away from the bright red hair they had. "Hello. Is there something I can help you with?"

"What a polite kid he is." The twin on the right said.

"Very polite." His brother added. "Name's Fred, by the way."

"And mine's George."

"I'm Ryou Bakura."

"Yes, we know who you are." They quickly cut in. "The 'good' Slytherin. Ginny's told us all about you."

Ryou looked confused for a minute. "Ginny?"

"Little sister."

"The one you help in potions."

"Third year."

Brown eyes were jumping from brother to brother as they kept speaking back and forth. _Do they rehearse this?_ "I remember her." Ryou replied. He had been helping the small red-headed girl in the extra potions classes, and even once in transfiguration. After one awkward assignment they had been paired in, she had been talking to him more frequently and less warily. She really was a nice girl, if a bit shy.

"Since you help her,"

"And she seems to like you,"

"Then you really can't be all that bad."

"Is there a point to any of this?" Nott butted in. "We're a bit busy."

Fred nodded seriously. "A very important point. And that point is..."

"we need to borrow the little potions genius for a second." George finished.

Nott frowned. "Like I said, we're busy."

"And this won't take too long, Rude Slytherin." George said.

Ryou tugged on Nott's coat gently to get his attention. "It's ok, Nott. If you don't mind, would you wait a while?"

His friend crossed his arms. "No, I don't mind." He glanced at the grinning twins before saying, "just don't take too long. I'll be in the Three Broomsticks."

"I'll see you there." Ryou waved at him as he left before giving his attention to the Weasley brothers expectantly, waiting for them to start.

"Oh, it isn't us that want to speak to you actually." Fred told him.

Ryou tilted his head a fraction. "Then who?"

"We'll take you to him." Each twin linked arms with him and marched him away.

The boy had to laugh to himself. These two had bright spirits and did as they liked. Ryou recalled the story he heard when they had failed to get past the aging line.

The strange trio stopped behind a different shop where a figure stood waiting. "Took you long enough." Ron huffed angrily. "It's bloody cold out here."

"Be nice." George scolded him.

"Weasley? You called me here?" Ryou was surprised. No, not surprised, more like curious as to what the Gryffindor wanted with him.

"Shhhh. Not here." Ron looked around before grabbing Ryou by the arm and pulled him farther away from the crowd. The twins followed, grinning from ear to ear at what their Slytherin-hating younger brother was about to propose.

The sounds of the visiting students became quieter until the sound of their footsteps on the ice was the only sound heard. Finally satisfied with the distance, Ron spun around and faced Ryou. "I need help with potions." He blurted out, wanting to get the matter over with.

"My...help?" S_neak away from everyone just to ask for help?_ Ryou shook his head mentally at the idea. "Yes, I can help. But why-"

"All the undercover work?" Fred finished, leaning in slightly.

Ron frowned. "I can do this alone." He made a shooing motion then crossed his arms when they didn't leave. "I already said I would try your bloody candy."

Grinning, the twins took a step back. "Fine. We get it. Just remember that you promised." They waved at Ryou and left the two awkward boys in favor of visiting the joke shop.

The smaller boy watched them go before looking at Ron again expectantly. Ron coughed and cleared his throat. "I, uh, really do need help you know. Snape wants me to redo a potion I messed up."

_Don't be wasting any more time._ Bakura said, making himself known to his host. _You are still missing close to all the ingredients and you haven't even started on the doll_.

"Okay. When would be a convenient time for you?" He asked before quickly directed his thoughts to the spirit. _I will get it done. And this way I can-_

_Get more ingredients._ Bakura laughed. _You are starting to think like me more and more, Yadonushi. I might just keep you around, and let you outlive your friends for a while..._

Meanwhile, Ron continued to observe the quiet teen that had suddenly gotten stiff, pale even. He had asked him, a bit awkwardly, if it were possible to meet in secret to avoid a huge fuss, but had gone unanswered. "Something wrong mate?" He leaned into Ryou's face slightly to get his attention.

"N-no, nothing. I'm sorry." Ryou recovered quickly and brought a thin smile to his face. "So, when would be a convenient time?"

With an uncertain look, Ron allowed the short conversation to repeat itself. "I was thinking of doing this in secret, late afternoon, in an empty classroom. To avoid, you know, nasty rumors."

Ryou nodded his head. "I will be in the library today, so you can get me there when you want to start."

Letting out a relieved sigh, Ron scratched his nose. "You know, Ginny was right. There is such a thing as a nice Slytherin."

"Thank you for the compliment. But..." Ryou shifted his feet, knowing that he would be stepping into a risky subject. "why ask me? Granger is smart as well. And you wouldn't have to be hiding from everyone's view either."

"She's with Harry right now..." The read head said, a bit dishearteningly.

_So, they're still arguing_. "Ano, Weasly? I don't know why you and Potter are arguing, but, maybe now wouldn't be the best time." When Ryou met no resistance or harsh questioning from the other, he decided to continue, choosing his words carefully. "The first task is close, and Potter can, can die. And with half of the school wearing the buttons...eto...he needs his friends. I think he doesn't want to face this tournament alone."

Ron's face was in a mixture of different emotions, anger was still one of them. "He was the one that entered the tournament in the first place."

"He didn't!" Ryou shook his head. "The three headmasters were discussing it, and it seems that someone else put Potter's name into the goblet. Someone powerful."

"Wait, how do you know that?" Ron gave him a curious glance.

Ryou coughed nervously. "I was caught, umm, sneaking out of the kitchen that night and was brought in for questioning."

"The kitchen?"

"I was hungry..."

Ron let the matter drop after a second of silence. "So then, if Harry didn't put his name in there, who did?"

"I don't know." He heard Bakura chuckle softly from deep inside his head. _You know something, don't you?_ Ryou asked.

_Now, why would you think that? _

Before he began to act weirdly again, Ryou excused himself. "I will see you later today, Weasley." Once Ron said his goodbye, Ryou reemerged into the large crowd, heading to the Three Broomsticks where Nott was waiting for him.

_You do know something_. Ryou accused. _You know who put Potter's name in the goblet._

_I saw what you saw, and we never witnessed anything._ The spirit scowled. _I have my suspicions, but that is all they are. Also, because there are no classes tomorrow, I expect you to stay up all night working on the doll_.

There was no use in protesting, so Ryou accepted it and pushed the spirit's matters aside. Nott was sitting by himself with two drinks, and it was time he enjoyed his trip in Hogsmeade.

* * *

**_A/N: Ok, now here is my question: how many of you want to read about Ron and Ryou working together? Because I am sure some of you are just ready to read about the tournament, so I will leave that section up to you. ^^_**

**_Don't forget to review!_**


	13. The Thirteenth

_**A/N: Sorry for the lateness. Feel free to blame school ^^ BUT! I did write in the Ryou and Ron scene since you all seemed to want it. I hope I don't disappoint. **_

_**Disclaimer: Me no own characters + setting :(**_

_**Beta: Why, by DemonKittyAngel of course! (the last chapter too, since I so stupidly forgot to add)**_

_**Reference notes: matte = wait**_

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The tense air hanging over a small table in the library was thick enough to cut through. It was still intangible, but the students seemed to avoid it when they happened to walk past it. There were three young boys sitting there, with their backs facing the general area and instead looked at each other. One of them wore a hood over his head, showing his face only to his companions. Another stared hard at the hooded figure with distrust, refusing to talk, and the last looked at the both of them anxiously.

It continued to stay that way for five minutes, until the raven decided to speak. "Tell me again, why _you_ are sitting here?"

The redhead swallowed audibly and leaned forward to prevent himself from drawing back. "I 'm here to speak to Bakura."

"M-matte..." Before the silence could set in again, Ryou closed the book he had been reading from to calm the two. "I agreed to help Weasley, so..."

Nott turned his eyes to his friend. "I know you're a nice person Bakura, but the Weasleys of all people?"

"Shut up, you...you Slytherin!" Ron did his best to keep his voice under control, but it was close to impossible when he was being put down by the snake house.

The raven was quick with the taunt. "Is that the best you can think of, you stuck-up Gryffindor?"

"I told you to wait!" Ryou all but exploded, slamming his book down for emphasis. His voice still came out as a whisper and the_ thunk_ of his book had barely been heard, but he had proven that he wanted the two to stop with the insults.

Nott stopped. It had been hard for him the past three years to find someone he could call a friend, and he wasn't about to lose the growing bond because of one idiotic Gryffindor. That still didn't mean he was going to make it seem obvious. He let himself fall back into his chair with a huff. "When did you ever tell us to wait?"

"Eh?"

"If I remember correctly, you said 'matte', whatever that means."

"Ohh..."

While Ryou thought back on his language change, Nott turned his attention back to Ron – who was growing irritated from being ignored. "I'm studying with Bakura at the moment. Why don't you come at a later time?"

"We already agreed to it." Ryou said. "That I would help him today."

"So you're dumping me for a Gryffindor." Nott instantly regretted his frustrated words when he saw Ryou's face fall in despair and guilt.

"Some friend you are." Ron muttered in slight triumph.

Nott continued to ignore his existence. "Look Bakura, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, I get stressed from breathing a Gryffindor's air-"

"Hey!"

"-and it makes my mind go fuzzy." Nott grinned when he received a thin smile from Ryou. "Go ahead then. I'd love to help you with _this_ one," he gave a quick, sideways glance at Ron, "but I wouldn't really love it. I'll wait for you in the common room." The three books on the table were stacked and taken away by the raven. Nott offered Ryou a smile. "Don't take too long."

"Sorry, Nott." Both boys waved at each other. Now it was Ron and Ryou left on the table. "I apologize for Nott. He can be...disagreeable at times." Ryou said. "So, did you find a classroom?"

Ron groaned. "It has to be Snape's class, since he is the one with stuff I need."

Ryou looked at him with a tilted head. "Is that bad?"

"Yes! It's Snape we're talking about. He hates us."

A short giggle sounded from Ryou as Ron started at him, curious. "Sorry, Weasley. You reminded me of a friend of mine, Jonouchi." He explained. "But Snape isn't so bad. He is just strict, is all."

"Just strict? That man is out to get us."

Ryou laughed lightly again. He recalled the various time his blond friend had blamed a teacher for his lower grades on tests and projects. Jonouchi even went as far as saying he was hated by almost every teacher on the campus. Ryou stood and put his books into his bag. "Should we get started now?"

Nodding, Ron pulled the hood over his head lower and led the way to the potions classroom. The red head really was being cautious with his 'secret identity' as he avoided lifting his head and darted around the other passing students.

Ron reached the room first and waved at Ryou. "C'mon, hurry up." Ryou smiled and followed Ron's steps as they both entered in a furtive manner. Once the door was securely closed behind them, the two teens glanced around the seemingly empty room.

With a sigh of relief, Ron searched the side of the classroom and picked out his caldron and book he had left there only hours ago. As he set up the caldron, ready to light a fire beneath it when the time came, Ryou flipped through the book to the folded page. The potion Ron was suppose to remake was the one he had completed only days ago with some difficulty. Although it was a paired assignment, he and Nott had still discussed it with the two Ravencalw girls, Lisa and Mandy..

"Weasley, wasn't this a partner assignment?" Ryou looked up at Ron as the read head walked over. At Ron's nodded answer, Ryou asked, "then, where is your partner?"

"Neville let the potion touch his skin and got a nasty rash, so he was excused, that lucky-"

At the sound of the door opening, the two boys turned their heads towards the tall, imposing figure of Severus Snape. "Good evening, Professor Snape." Ryou was the first to greet. Besides him, Ron gave a thin, one-sided grin.

Snape gave a curt nod in response. "Is there a reason for coming here, Bakura?"

"I'm Weasley's partner, Sir."

The potions teacher appeared to have something to say by the calculating look in his eye, but he disregarded it and turned to Ron instead. "I expect no more mistakes, Weasley. And if I see Bakura doing most of the work, you will do it again, on your own."

With a grumble, Ron muttered "yes, sir" and gave his attention to his book. At the moment, reading the list besides the given instructions was much more important that listening to Snape.

Said man waved them off and continued walking. Before disappearing through a side door, he called Ryou. "Bakura, you know where everything is."

Ryou stared at the closed door for a while. Was he really leaving both students alone? And trusting Ryou with his stash of ingredients? The Gryffindor had similar thoughts. "Did he just...usually, he watches us like a hawk."

"He trusts us."

"Trusts you. No surprise there since you are in Slytherin. He makes it obvious that he favors you all over the rest of us." It was difficult for Ron to say this without adding a hint of distaste.

Ryou listened carefully, not offering his opinion in case the wrong thing would leave his lips. "Weasley, may I ask...why don't you like the Slytherin house?"

A look of disbelief fell on the red head. "You're asking that? They're arrogant gits, the lot of them." He gave a nervous cough after his mouth had unintentionally run off. "Not you, exactly."

"It's okay." And it truly was. Ryou was too busy thinking about Ron's words to take much offense from them. Both sides of the feud have been heard and it interested Ryou on how truthful their statements were. Nott and Weasley seemed honest enough, though their opinions on each other's house did sound a bit extreme.

Still in thought, Ryou strolled over to the cabinet and opened the doors. He picked and pulled out different substances until he his mind drew up a blank. "Weasley, would you read the last six for me?" He said over his shoulder. As Ron directed him, Ryou continued, eying every bottle and jar as he worked. There wasn't much time to obtain more than one of the ingredients, so he settled for the first one he saw, silverweed.

Guilt began to well up inside of him as he quickly reached for the jar of yellow plants, unscrewed the lid, and pluck out a few of the thin roots. The liquid it was in was sticky and clung to his fingers even after he stuffed the plants into his pocket and wiped his fingers on his robe. He began to panic, and rubbed harder until he felt the cloth burn his skin and still, his fingertips remain sticky.

Bakura noticed the small panic attack and called out to his host before he had the chance to ruin his plans. _Ignore it, you fool. Pretend nothing is wrong and get this session over with quickly_.

Grabbing the other ingredients, Ryou closed the doors with his elbows and returned to where Ron was waiting. He did his best to put on a carefree smile and took his seat. "I have everything."

"Good." Ron said.

After that, small talk was forgotten as Ryou did his best to direct Ron without actually demonstrating and doing it for him. For most of the time, Ron maintained a frown as he struggled to cut with the tiny knife or measure powders correctly. At one point, he had snapped at Ryou with a stressed "okay, I get it, just let me do it" to which Ryou gently pulled back and watched silently. He could understand the frustration and was patient enough to allow Ron to relieve himself if even a little.

Snape did reenter the room when they were nearly finished to rummage through his own private books. Ron kept a weary eye on him as he worked and nearly succeeded in ruining his entire work. After that, he paid close attention to his partner and obeyed without any angry remarks.

Being as careful as possible, Ron dropped a small pinch of white powder into the pot and stirred it. As soon as he finished the required stirs, he leaned back with a sigh. "All done."

Ryou stood and leaned over the completed potion to inspect the texture and color. "It is thicker than it should, but everything else seems fine. You are done Weasley."

"Great. Now to get Snape to accept it." While he took the couldren to the professor, Ryou started cleaning up the large mess that had somehow formed, more on Ron's part than anything else. His fingers were cleaner now, but he suspected that it was because they had come in contact with much of the other ingredients and had gotten into the potion. Ron wasn't perfect with his job, but it was probably the mysterious substance that had made his end product thick instead of thin. He could only hope that Snape wouldn't make Ron redo the entire thing at his expense.

Everything was packed and cleaned by the time Ron returned. "I passed." He said.

"I'm glad." Ryou breathed out in relief. Being the closest, he grabbed Ron's bag and passed it to him.

Ron took it wordlessly. He opened his mouth, then closed it, letting it frown slightly. "You were right." He muttered.

Brown eyes looked up in thought. "About what?"

Again, the red head took a while in speaking before finally answering. "About Harry. He didn't put his name in the goblet."

A grin formed on Ryou's lips. "So you're friends again."

Ron was taken aback by the honest, cheerful reaction, completely unexpected from a Slytherin. _How did he manage to land himself in Slytherin?_ "Yeah, we are. And..." _Why couldn't he be in Ravenclaw? It would've been so much easier_. "Thanks...for the help and all..."

"It was my pleasure."

The joy and purity of Ryou's broad smile surprised Ron all over again. "I will...see you in class then." With that, he said a very quick goodbye to Snape, waved at Ryou, and left the room as inconspicuous as he could. His mind was still torn between making himself believe Ryou was part of a different house, or ignoring that he was a real student at all to forget the horrible truth of being grateful to a Slytherin. In the end, he decided to think of Ryou as a secret acquaintance that no one needed to know about.

~/~/~/~/~

Ryou was in high spirits when he walked into Divination the next morning to take his class with the third years from both his house and Hufflepuff. Not only had he finally finished Nott's gift, but had been able to start on Malfoy's and Snape's with soft wood he had been able to sneak in from outside. He had also written back to his father asking for regular paper and a pen since he had decided to keep up a written conversation with his friends from Japan.

The seat he picked was at the edge of the room, close to the front where he could pay attention but still be more or less ignored. It wasn't that he disliked the class, he enjoyed it in fact. He just didn't want to become paranoid with the teacher's frightening predictions like he usually did.

Professor Trelawney paced around the rows as the students finished filling up the seats. They were paired up in groups of two with a crystal ball placed on the table between them. Ryou sat patiently, unsurprised when he remained on his own because of the odd number. The students tended to stay with their own friends and house unless the arrangements were decided for them.

With a dramatic wave of her arm, the Professor welcomed all of her students before diving into the lesson. "Today, students, you will all see into these crystal balls. Look deep inside for the inevitable future that lies ahead." She demonstrated with her own, clear orb by holding it close to her face and staring into the center intensely. "Clear your minds, young students, and allow the images to form for you to see."

The third years followed her example and took turns peering into the ball, some more reluctant that others. Ryou took his time and crouched his head low. With the ball directly in front of him, he did his best to clear his mind as instructed, which proved to be impossible. Even if he did manage to rid his head of thoughts, all that left was the spirit's thoughts filled of raw anger, vengeance, and blood. _Too much gore for the innocent boy?_ The spirit mocked. _Hehe, maybe I can let you into my mind for once. Let you experience my demented thoughts and feelings._

Ryou let a defeated sigh escape his lips as he leaned back, ignoring Bakura's offer. He knew he wouldn't be able to achieve anything in that class so he observed the rest of his peers for any that happened to catch a glace of the all mysterious future.

"Are you not seeing anything, child?" Ryou lifted his head up to Professor Trelawney standing to his right. "You must concentrate, continue to expand your being into the crystal without letting your thoughts burden you."

Ryou nodded to show that he understood the basic concept. "But Professor Trelawney, I can't seem to clear my mind."

"Everyone can, my dear." The woman picked up Ryou's crystal ball. "Shall I demonstrate for you again? Better yet, I shall see into the future for you." She held it before her face like she had done for the class and lost herself inside. Ryou waited anxiously, waiting for what the divination teacher would predict for him.

Seconds passed without a reaction and the few students who had been watching turned back to what they had been doing before. Ryou was about to speak, when the ball suddenly fell to the floor and shattered at his feet. Ryou had flinched back in surprise and almost fell off his seat. "Professor Trelawney? Are you..." The teacher didn't show any signs of hearing him, but continued to stare at the spot where the crystal ball had been perched in her hand. Every student in the room was now staring at her in confusion.

Concerned, Ryou stood, avoiding the sharp shards, and slowly tugged on the teachers sleeve. Her reaction was instant as her hand latched on to Ryou's wrist and gripped tightly. Her eyes, made larger by the thick lenses, bore down on the boy. With a raspy voice, she spoke, drawing sharp breaths after every few words. "Peaceful days will come to an end by the summer's wake...the abandoned child will witness blood, trapped and left in the dark...The demons inside shall rise and take control, plunder the weak and innocent...an answer will be revealed, and a secret shall be sealed...The Thief King will be confronted by the White Mage as the monster walks over the living... and a bond shall be formed that is forever etched onto skin..."

The world froze at that moment.

Every student was staring at the two standing figures. The entire room seemed to flinch when the professor began coughing after finally releasing the poor boy. "Oh, pardon me." Trelawney said, gently padding her chest with a fist. "I must be getting sick. Hm? What is this?" She glanced all about her at the broken pieces that remained from her ball.

No one answered straight away, all waiting for someone else to talk, to ask, about what exactly had happened in the past few minutes. Nothing but the sounds of the professor picking up the pieces could be heard as she laughed the matter away with clumsiness and not focusing enough.

In shock, Ryou's body moved numbly, bending down and helping the teacher out of the kindness he automatically reacted to. Not the boy, nor the spirit resting inside him, made a single comment.

Professor Trelawney eventually did notice the deathly silence and found all eyes on her. She frowned. "We all drop things, no need to make a spectacle of it. Now gaze into your crystal balls. Go on." With uncertain faces, the third years turned to their partners, low whispers escaping their lips.

With all of the pieces picked up, the teacher led the student to her desk where they placed what became of the ball.

"...to leave..."

Trrelawney could barely make out the soft-spoken words from her student. She turned to him, looking through her glasses that enlarged the boy's face. "What was that?"

Looking at the floor, he repeated his words. "I need to leave. To the hospital wing."

"Are you not feeling well, child?" Even as she asked, she took note of the paling face and abnormally black face. When the boy nodded his head, meaning that he indeed did not feel well, she excused him. "Very well then. You may come back to pick up your homework, when you feel better."

With another nod Ryou went to his seat, grabbed his bag and books, and headed out the door. He was aware of the looks his back was getting but ignored them. He could deal with their rumors; he was used to being talked about behind his back after all.

Outside the class, Ryou shut the door securely behind him and walked. His mind finally ran through her words with understanding. _Thief King...she said Thief King..._ There was only one King of Thieves Ryou was aware of, and it was the spirit residing within him. More than once, the spirit had bragged about being able to steal anything no matter how hidden away it was nor the protection it had. _What she said is real...it will come true... _None of it had sounded pleasant.

It was suddenly too quiet. The halls were empty as most students were learning in their classrooms. And the spirit, he too was shut away from him. Pushing away the feeling of regret, Ryou probed carefully towards the dark soul. It wasn't difficult to find the voice, mainly because it wasn't trying to hide. Ryou felt deranged happiness overcoming the slight feeling of panic coming from his mentioned name. Then came the laughter, full and booming and Ryou knew then that the spirit had understood what the prediction meant.

Becoming suddenly tired, Ryou leaned against the wall and let his body slump down to the floor. The laughter continued resonating in his head; the sound of total and complete victory.

* * *

_**A/N: Ok, I can say for sure that the first task will happen in the next chapter and I have a lovely little role for Ryou ^^ Hehehe... (but don't go imagining some crazy things o.O )**_

_**And I finally posted the infamous sketch (Ryou with the ferret ears). It came out really light so I will fix it...later...eventually... Remove the spaces to see: http : / jaybee4 . deviantart . com /#/ d48sdbv**_

_**R&R! please ^^**_


	14. The Fourteenth

_**A/N: Surprise! Yeah...sorry for the long wait. I offer no excuses, only a new chapter which I hope you will enjoy ^^**_

_**Disclaimer: I neither own the setting nor characters T^T**_

_**Beta: The Great DemonKittyAngel**_

_**Reference Notes: merci = thank you; petit poupee (there's suppose to be an accent on the first e) = I think I'll leave you in the dark with that one, like Ryou ^^**_

_**Japanese: arigato = thank you; nani = what**_

* * *

The day had finally arrived. The day that the four champions were to face their first challenge. It was nerve wrecking, waiting and waiting for what dangerous task the four students would face. Especially for those that were close to the champions. Those that feared for their safety. That was what Nott thought his friend was going through as he marched up to Ryou's bed.

Classes were to start in ten minutes and based on the closed curtains, no one had bothered to wake up the white-haired boy. Nott could dismiss it as simply sleeping in, but Ryou had never slept in, not even when he stayed up late finishing up his homework. _Maybe he's worried for Potter. No, he's worried for Krum and Delacour, since he seems to like them._ "Bakura." He called. Slight shifting could be heard, but it stopped soon after. "Bakura, class is starting soon. You missed breakfast so I snuck out some muffins." Again, there was some movement but no more. "Bakura, get up or we'll be late." This time, he grabbed a curtain and pulled it opened.

Ryou groaned at the light and burrowed deeper into the blankets so that even his light hair disappeared from view. Nott shook what he guessed was his friend's shoulder. "It's morning now, you know."

"It came back."

The soft murmur brought Nott's face lower. "What came back?"

There was a pause, then, "the nightmare."

_So that's it_. Nott set the muffins he brought along on a cabinet and began rummaging through Ryou's clothes. "You have to think about it as being just a dream. Then, it'll go away. Here, I have your clothes for you." Nott was beginning to think Ryou had gone back to sleep when he didn't move, but the boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He gave him some privacy by turning around while Ryou changed. "You know Bakura, if you want to tell me about it, I'll listen."

Ryou considered his words, thinking warily as he finished putting on his robe. He knew better. No one else should be dragged down into his problems but it was getting to be too much for one scared 14 year old. Nott was willing to listen and even though he wouldn't say a word about the spirit, at least his dream wouldn't haunt him alone.

Nott sighed when he didn't hear a response. Ryou was like that, facing things on his own to not be a burden. _But it wouldn't hurt to open up at least a little._

"There is a monster." The soft voice caught Nott by surprise. He turned back slightly to Ryou combing though his hair slowly, deep in thought. "A huge monster, almost like a demon. It's trapped in a mirror. I should be seeing my reflection, but all I see are its dark, red eyes. It's screaming and yelling; it wants to be free so it hits the glass again and again. The mirror starts breaking so I run but the mirror follows me like a shadow. And I can feel it laughing behind me, as if it's telling me that running away is useless.

"Then, I find a dead end and I turn around and..." Ryou put the brush down. He wanted to continue, wanted to finish the terrible dream. "My sister is there lying on the floor with my mother. They...they're both covered in cuts, and their bones are broken...then I look down at my h-hands and see s-so much blood. All over me..."

"It's the rumors, isn't it?" Nott stood by Ryou and guided him down to sit on his bed. He grabbed a muffin and passed it to Ryou, who took it without a word. Instead, brown eyes stared up to the standing figure. Nott was questioning him while already knowing the answer. "I heard about the crazy future that Trelawney foretold. But you shouldn't listen to it, since she's never been right before. If it makes you feel any better, she has predicted Potter's death a million times already."

Ryou bit into the muffin then nodded to himself. "Maybe..."

"Now, let's go. We have transfiguration and you know how McGonagall can get." Nott helped him grab his books while Ryou carried the muffins, eating them along the way. He guessed that Ryou's mother and sister were dead, based on his friend's reaction to the dream. How they could have died – if they did indeed die – was something Nott was not going to discuss in Ryou's present state. At the moment, it was better for him to forget about it with class and try to figure it out once he could talk about it calmly. Family was a big topic Nott preferred to avoid for many reasons, but now he had a person he felt he could trust. In that moment, Nott decided that if Ryou would talk to him, then he would reply back. _But right now, Bakura needs to forget._

They entered the classroom right on time with heavy breaths and tired legs. Ryou went straight to work, not once loosing concentration, Nott following his example.

The morning passed and Ryou was able to push the horrible dream away. For once, the spirit was helpful in providing headaches to keep his mind away from them, though Bakura was in an unusual high mood. He wasn't hiding it in the least either. Ryou wasn't allowed to think about that, the dreams, or the prophesy; only dread what they meant.

Classes had ended early to make room for the tournament, an event Ryou was half excited for, and half anxious. Dumbledore had warned that the champions' lives were at stake and none of the challenges were going to be easy. The whole tournament intrigued Ryou's interest, but he was still worried for the people participating. _I hope they all make it though._ Ryou thought, his earlier worries pushed to the back of his mind for his friends' sake. Nott had been good to him and didn't deserve being brought down by Ryou's own problems.

_Potter, Diggory, Krum, and Delacour...No, I know they can survive and win_. With this new resolve, Ryou made his way outside where most of the students were heading to. Since he had been in a different class from Nott, they had agreed to meet up by the stadium that had been set up. As he walked, he saw the only female champion close by and decided to make his way over to her.

The girl noticed him and waited patiently with a thin smile on her face. "Good evening Monsieur Bakura." She greeted once he reached her.

"Good evening." Ryou greeted in return. He was suddenly nervous in talking to her. In the better light, he was able to tell just how beautiful she was. Feeling his cheeks reddening, he moved on with what he wanted to say. "Ms. Delacour, I, uhh, wanted to wish you luck on the challenge." He offered his best smile with a slight tilt of his head.

For a moment, Fleur dismissed her worries and cooed at the boy. "_Merci_. You arr very sweet, _petit poupee_." She patted his hair with endearment. "You remind me of _moi petite soeur_, my little sister."

They remained that way, reminiscing about their dear ones, until Fleur took her hand back. "I 'ave to be going now! _Merci_ forr your concern."

Ryou waved as she left with one last "Bye, Delacour, good luck!" before he turned, meaning to look for Nott. Instead, his path was blocked by three older students, two of which he recognized as the ones who threw the ring into the lake.

"Bakura, is it?" The taller one said.

"Y-yes..." Ryou's eyes searched around him for a quick escape. He had no time to be worrying about new problems.

The boys noticed his darting eyes and laughed. "Oh, we aren't here to trouble you." Another of the three said. "We are fellow Slytherins after all. We just came to tell you that there is an owl for you."

Eying them wearily, Ryou asked, "An owl?"

"Yes." The last, and toughest, of the three said. "An owl for you up in the tower. You know which one, right?"

Not even giving him enough time to respond, the tallest one continued. "You should hurry up and get it. The letter seemed pretty important. It was from...your father. I remember reading the name 'Bakura' written on it."

_My father's reply?_ Ryou was very skeptical of the entire set up. It was most likely a trap, and he would be getting the letter – if it was real – at breakfast the next day anyhow. "Thank you for the notice. But I will read it later." He said politely.

He tried walking around the trio but had his path blocked once again. "You need to get it _now_. The poor owl looked hurt too, and you wouldn't want to leave an animal to suffer right?"

There was a small possibility that they were telling the truth. _It wouldn't hurt to check up in the Owlery. There really might be a hurt owl. I have some time before the tournament starts anyways_. With a slow nod, Ryou turned and walked back into the castle. Hearing no one behind him, he walked faster until he made it to the tower filled with owls. As a last precaution, he stuck his head in first and looked around the room before going inside.

He wandered around the room, searching for any owl that looked like it was carrying a letter but found none. Just as he was started to label the whole ordeal as a joke, he heard the door close loudly behind him. Ryou flinched and ran to the door. He twisted the knob and discovered it had been locked. "Hey! Let me out, I'm still in here!" He started pounding on the door and rattling the doorknob to make as much noise as possible. "Hello?"

After five minutes, he finally gave up with a sigh. Whoever had locked the door – the three Slytherins, no doubt – was not going to come back. _I will miss the tournament if I don't leave now._

_Ignore the tournament; or would you like a repeat of the one we just finished? I would be glad to pull out a deck and...play with a few of the students._

Ryou was about to deny when he thought about what the spirit had just said. _You...did you bring your deck here?_

_I did_. There was a slight twinge of glee to his words, just waiting for a provocation.

Leaning back against the wall, Ryou said and thought nothing on the matter. _Nott told me to forget about my worries. For now, I need to get out of here. Nott's waiting for me._ He gave the room another glance-over, trying to look past the countless owls that resided there. There was a window but one look outside to the enormous drop removed that option of escape.

Minutes passed and search turned dry. More than once he tried the door knob, racking his brain for any kind of spell that could help but his few months of learning had no appropriate spell. With another sigh, he gave up and took his seat by the window. _Maybe...If I listen hard enough, I'll be able to hear it._ With an ear pressed against the glass, he closed his eyes concentrated. At times, there was a faint roar, or a screaming and clapping audience. _Sounds like they're having fun._

After a while, his eye lids were beginning to droop. He had, after all, stayed up for a portion of the night after the return of his nightmare, and the lull of the flapping wings was starting to get to him. _A short nap won't hurt_. Ryou thought to himself. _And when I wake up, maybe the door will be opened again._

Lying against the glass, he let sleep take him bit by bit. He was almost entirely gone to the dreams that awaited when a loud bang on the roof startled him awake. He sat up quickly to the flutter of disturbed owls taking flight all around the room. The banging continued, shaking the tower and causing dust from the ceiling to fall. _What was that?_

There was a softer impact right outside the window. There was a cry of pain and Ryou quickly opened the window to help whoever was crazy enough to be outside. A boy was hanging onto the roof, his feet dangling in the air. All Ryou could see was the mess of black hair and arms grasping onto the tiles. Then, the face looked up.

"Potter?" Ryou couldn't stop the shock on his face as he saw the other face mirror similar surprise. His attention was soon stolen by the large creature flying past. _Dragon..._ Ryou couldn't take his off the giant lizard. The ferocious face glared at them both, as if struggling to choose who to devour first.

"Bakura? What are-" Harry was stopped by the roar of the dragon circling above. Dismissing the Slytherin's appearance, he struggled to hold on to the edge. It was hard enough not giving in to the strain, but now he had to reach for either his broom, or risk letting go to pull out his wand.

From the window, Ryou saw Harry's struggle and began climbing out. Slowly, he sat on the ledge, then inched out plastering his body on the roof to avoid slipping off. There was no way he was leaving the other to die by the dragon's teeth. He had to help even if it meant moving across air to hand Harry his broom. _You fool!_ Bakura protested once he learned Ryou's intentions. _You will fall and die. DO NOT go outside_.

_I am not leaving him_. Ryou thought with determination. Still unnoticed by the raven, he continued moving closer, the broom almost within reach.

_You will get us both killed! Just leave the boy and go back inside, I demand it!_

Ryou was close, so close. Stretching his hand he bent lower. "Bakura! Go back!" Harry yelled, finally seeing the frightened Slytherin wanting to help. Anxiety swelled inside him. "Just leave it!"

Ryou blocked both voices and made a grab for the smooth handle. His fingers had just touched the wood when the dragon landed on top the Owlery, creating another great tremble. Absolute panic enveloped Ryou as he lost his hold on the slanting roof and began to tumble downwards. There was no scream from his mouth as he eyes stayed glued to the deep fall beneath him.

Sliding down, his foot hit the broom sending it to Harry who grabbed it and let go of his hold. Letting instinct control, he threw one foot over the side and sat while he searched wildly for Ryou. He saw a flash of white pass his line of vision and automatically dove down towards it. _I'll save him_. He thought. _He won't die, this is like the game and I have to catch the (larger-than-normal) snitch._

With nothing to hold, Ryou waved his arms around in desperation._I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'mgoingtodie_. His eyes shut close to avoid staring into his death. There was another screeching roar followed by a loud "BAKURA!" He opened his eyes to see Harry holding out his hand, telling him to grab on.

Not needing any encouragement, Ryou latched on just in time to be pulled away from the fierce dragon's path. He scrambled on the broom, sitting behind Harry with difficulty and held on to the boy's waist for dear life. Angry at missing her attack, the dragon flapped her wings faster and turned in pursuit.

Ryou felt like he was going to be sick. Harry maneuvered with no restraint, making sharp turns, loops, and spinning which that would have thrown Ryou off had he not tensed his body and tightened his hold. Harry, meanwhile, gasped for breath. Ryou was holding on too much. "Bakura...can't breathe..." He felt some loosening, but not much. He had to end the challenge quick before he died from suffocation and be eaten by a dragon.

Not once did Ryou speak, but he finally found his voice and graced Harry with hysterics. "The dragon Potter! It's coming! _We're going to die_!"

"No we're not!" Harry yelled back. "Just hold on." His best choice was to ignore Ryou's rant – which had turned into a completely different language at some point – and turn back to the nest. The dragon noticed the direction they were heading towards and quickened her advance. _I need to go faster! But with the weight on the broom..._Making a rash decision, Harry lowered themselves to the ground that was fast approaching. "Bakura. We're too heavy. You need to let go!"

"NANI?"

"JUST TRUST ME!"

A sharp pinch on his hands caused him to flinch just as the broom flipped upside down. For the second time in less than an hour, Ryou was once again sailed through the sky. The grass beneath him was soft, but it did nothing to soothe the fall as the boy landed. He might have been somewhat fine, as Harry had planned, had he not landed on his feet. There was sickening crack and Ryou fell to his side, screaming in burning agony and pain.

From the stands, Nott waited in irritation. Not only had he not seen his friend, but now Potter had chosen to steal the dragon and his show. Minutes passes and he sighed angrily. _And I was looking forward to Potter losing_… A gasp from the crowd shifted his attention to the figures flying their way, the dragon was hard to mistake. Murmurs of confusion made Nott look closer to see a small patch of white behind Potter. As he got closer, the white suddenly fell of the broom a few feet off the ground before a tortured scream was heard.

Everything clicked in Notts head. _There is only one student with white hair..._

Nott rushed off the stand not caring who he shoved out of his way. _If that is Bakura...If that is him, Potter is dead_. It seemed like an eternity passed before Nott stepped down and ran quicker than he had ever done before. The screaming had died down but it didn't matter since he could now see the small figure lying on the ground.

In one fast movement, Nott was crouching over Ryou. "Bakura. What happened? What's wrong?"

Ryou was on his side, sobbing lightly and gripping his leg against his chest. "F-foot..." He gasped. "Bro-broken..."

"Ok. Broken foot." Nott searched his brain for anything at all. He knew of elixirs and serums but..._Bloody hell! I don't have anything with me._ "Um, hospital. We need to get you to the hospital wing." With all of the effort he could muster, he helped Ryou to his one foot and let him lean on his shoulder.

Fortunately, a couple of the professors had spotted them before the boys could walk/hop three steps. "What is the meaning of this?" McGonogall cried upon seeing the hurt Slytherin. Behind her was Snape. He had also recognized the flying mob of white hair as he student. "What happened?" The transfiguration professor repeated her question upon being ignored.

"I think Bakura broke his ankle, Professor." Nott answered. He knew Ryou was in pain when he didn't deserve it. He had no clue of what was going on or why he had suddenly appeared on Harry's broomstick. He was curious, like the rest, but Ryou's wellbeing came first. "He needs to get to the hospital wing."

McGonogall had a regretful look on her face as she spoke. "Mr. Bakura can't leave yet. This is a very serious matter. Absolutely no help or interference is to be given to the champions."

Nott's mouth opened in protest but it was Snape that spoke. "Bakura." His voice and face hid emotion. Once Ryou managed to look up to his head of house through tearful eye, Snape continued. "Did you help Potter in the challenge?"

"I...tried..." Ryou gave a weak shake of his head. _If anything, I only gave him more trouble_.

Satisfied with the answer, Snape muttered a spell with his wand that let Ryou hover over the grass a few inches. He was finally able to reach Nott in height, making leaning on him just a bit easier. "Nott, take him to the hospital wing."

Nott sighed in relief. "Yes sir." Getting a better hold on Ryou, the raven was able to pull him along with ease. Without the pressure on his foot, Ryou had calmed down and concentrated on something else. Sadly, the concentration fell to the spirit's angry words.

_I told you, demanded you, not to help. If you had died, I would lose my body. Not just this one but the one we're making. I thought I had made myself into a big enough threat-_

_I've got it_. Ryou thought wearily. _I've got it so..._

Bakura became silent for a moment to look back at Ryou's actions, back to when he was falling, reaching out in panic at the wooden tiles and grasping at whatever made contact with his hand, until he finally came across a certain memory. _I see. You did well Yadonushi. Consider your defiance forgotten for today._

_Arigato_. Came the bitter reply.

~/~/~/~/~

By the end of the intense two hour interrogation, Ryou was done with the questions, done with the tedious statements that were asking for the same thing and only worded differently. Yes, he had gone into the Owlery and yes, he had been locked in. Then it was no, he didn't see or hear the person that had closed the door and no, Potter hadn't asked for any sort of aid. The rest of the crazy flight had been reviewed by a minister and such by looking into Harry's memory. Exactly how they did that, Ryou didn't care to ask. _It was probably the same as to what Snape did in the summer._

The sun was just setting, taking its last rays from the hospital wing where Ryou would be staying that night. He had been amazed by how quickly his broken ankle had been fixed without the need of a cast. The strong, horrible pain he had felt on the impact had diminished to a soft ache although it still hurt to put pressure on it. It was at times like this that Ryou truly did appreciate the existence of magic.

Near by footsteps brought Ryou back from his thoughts. "Hey Bakura." Nott greeted. He stopped by the side of the bed and plopped one of the chocolate frogs Ryou had a fascination with onto his lap. "This was all I could find."

"Thanks Nott." Ryou smiled. He was aware of how worried he had made Nott, _and I made him feel guilty_. "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"And you should be Bakura. You could have died, you know. A Slytherin risking his life for a Gryffindor, unheard of." Nott finished with a grimace. "Then Potter goes and kicks you off the broom."

"Harry wouldn't do that." Came a voice. Both boys turned to Hermione's frowning face, with Harry and Ron walking in behind her.

"Oh, it's you." Nott said with distaste.

Harry stepped around the bushy-haired girl and looked at Ryou while ignoring Nott's obvious sign to leave. "Bakura, how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you."

The sincerity in Ryou's words brought a sigh from the taller raven. "Why must you be so polite to everyone?"

Ryou gave a light chuckle. He turned to the trio. "I'm glad you came to visit."

"Oh, it's nothing Bakura." Hermione said. "You did try to help Harry after all."

"And you ended up injured because of me." Harry interjected.

"Try 'broken'."

"Hey!" Ron said angrily to Nott. "Harry saved them both."

"Shut up you stuck up Gryffindor."

"Why don't you, you no good Slytherin?"

Another interruption saved Ryou from having to stop his friend and the steaming red head from arguing. Fleur Delacour and her group of friends walked in and soon joined the others, crowding around the small bed. "Petit poupee!" Fleur cried. "'Ow 'arr you?"

Everyone was a bit confused seeing the Beauxbotons students visiting a Hogwarts student. Ryou was the first to recover. "I feel better now. Thank you for coming."

"Petit poupee?"

Ryou shrugged at Nott, telling him he didn't know what it meant either.

"I 'eard it waz broken." Fleur continued.

"Not anymore." Ryou lifted his leg to demonstrate, but winced when he set t back down. "I'll be fine."

"Who knew you were so popular, Bakura?" The third interruption of the night arrived in the form of three Slytherin students. Malfoy scanned the odd group once he reached them and frowned upon seeing the youngest champion. "Fancy meeting you here, Potter. Seeing as how you're the one who broke his foot."

It was easy to see how Harry was trying to remain calm by clenching his fists. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"I came to visit my friend."

_This is getting dangerous,_ Ryou noticed. Before the tension could get any thicker, he cleared his throat. "Everyone, thank you." The large mixture of twelve paused to turn to him. "It really means a lot to me, that you all came to visit. I've never had this many people so...thank you." He offered his kindest, most grateful smile to the group.

All were quiet for a while, unsure of how to respond while most brandished smiles of their own. Ron was the one to break the silence with a question the Hogwarts students all had on their minds. "How the bloody hell did you end up in Slytherin?"

~/~/~/~/~

Ryou sighed contently for once. Sure, it had been a bit scary, and life-threatening that day, but there were people that cared enough to see him after wards. He thought back to the awkward twenty minutes in which groups were trying their best not to fight not only for Ryou's sake, but their own – none wanting to be kicked out and punished. For the majority of the time, they listened to Fleur and her peers prater on about their school and customs. There was a brief mention of what she and the rest of the champions received upon the end of the first task, but only a description. They weren't allowed to get help and having an open discussion could be counted as such.

Eventually, they had to leave and every girl once again gave Ryou a kiss on each cheek, Pierre keeping with his hand shake. Having everyone witness only deepened the blush that crept on his face. Not long after, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle also left, being unable to be in the Gryffindor's company. They left behind a few sweets – giving them to Ryou a second before turning away hastily – and soon disappeared out of the room.

Hermione took over the talking then, mentioning a group she had created by the name of S.P.E.W. that involved the unfair treatment of elves. Nott had scoffed at the name, but otherwise remained quiet.

Ryou declined her invitation to join politely after describing how happy the elves had been in their work. It was then that Hermione remembered a 'Dobby' person and led the two boys out, leaving Nott and Ryou to talk until the raven was eventually kicked out by Madam Pomfrey.

Not long after, Cairoshell made his late appearance to sleep with his owner as he had been doing since the start of his new life. He remained in a small ball at Ryou's side as said boy petted him out of habit. Ryou stared at the ceiling and listened to the sounds of the night. He hadn't changed out of the simple clothing he kept beneath his robes – black pants and a simple white undershirt – so it was a bit uncomfortable. But he could stand it for one night if it meant not disturbing his foot.

Resisting the urge to roll onto his side, Ryou instead fingered the two objects through the cloth of his pants pocket. They were the only reason why the spirit had decided not to punish him for his rashness. After all, a dragon scale was hard to come by, even in a school of magic.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope I didn't disappoint with the first task (poor Ryou though...all the pain I put him through...) Please, review and I promise the next chapter won't take five months to be posted up .**_


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